I may be wrong, but I don't think this is accurate.
If the goal were to consume excess production, power plants could just heat a pool of water on-site, or some similar industrial scale "pointless" electricity use.
Rather, negative prices are there because it's in the interest of energy producers to shift demand from the peak, as all their infrastructure needs to be scaled to meet that demand.
So don't think of it as free energy at the time you're using it, think of it as a fine for running your washer/dryer etc. during peak hours.
If the goal were to consume excess production, power plants could just heat a pool of water on-site, or some similar industrial scale "pointless" electricity use.
Rather, negative prices are there because it's in the interest of energy producers to shift demand from the peak, as all their infrastructure needs to be scaled to meet that demand.
So don't think of it as free energy at the time you're using it, think of it as a fine for running your washer/dryer etc. during peak hours.