Grid operator TenneT signs high-tension wire deals worth 1.5 billion euros

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - TenneT, the largest electric grid operator in the Netherlands and Germany, on Thursday said it had awarded contracts worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.65 billion) to companies building high-tension wires.

TenneT, which intends to spend as much as 100 billion euros in the coming decade to build out electric grids onshore and offshore as electricity from renewable sources increasingly replaces fossil fuels, said the multi-year contracts were awarded to eight companies.

The companies were Brugg Kabel of Switzerland, LS Cable & System and Taihan of South Korea, NKT GmbH & Co KG and Suedkabel GmhH of Germany, Prysmian and TKF of the Netherlands, and TBEA Shandong Luneng Taishan Cable Co., Ltd. of China.

($1 = 0.9085 euros)

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by Jason Neely)