Power surge fries appliances in Friesland
11 September 2006AMSTERDAM — A 300-volt power surge in the electricity net has caused considerable damage in the north of Friesland Province.
A software glitch resulted in 11,000 homes in the town of Het Bildt receiving a much higher voltage than normal for 20 minutes on Friday.
By Monday there were dozens of reports from residents and businesses of broken televisions, microwaves, central heating boilers, modems and other electric devices.
Residents have inundated the local branch of electronics shop Expert with requests to fix or replace appliances. "We've had to say 'no' a lot," Expert's Janny de Vos said.
A spokesperson for energy company Nuon said on Monday that its subsidiary, network manager Continuon, will pay compensation.
Nuon will be deal with damage claims in a accommodating fashion, he said, but it may take weeks before the full extent of the damage is known.
