Dutch households were without electricity for 36 minutes in 2006, seven minutes longer than the average over the last five years, according to figures published by EnergieNed today.

But the organisation representing Dutch power firms said the Netherlands still has one of the most trustworthy electricity networks in Europe. In 2004 Spanish households were without power for 123 minutes, France 57 minutes and the UK 87 minutes.
Of the 18,923 power cuts in Holland last year, 86% were small-scale, involving an average of 16 homes and lasting between two to three hours. The most common cause of electricity stoppages (32%) was power cables being cut during digging .