With heatwave conditions having intensified across India, the entire country is in the throes of a major power deficit.

States including UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are facing power outages running up to 16 hours in a day. Rural parts of Punjab and Haryana and also facing the brunt of lengthy power cuts. Even a power surplus state like J&K is reeling under load-shedding forcing its chief minister Omar Abdullah to tweet that the public should start paying market price for the electricity they consume.