Power shortages affect millions in areas of India

NEW DELHI, India -- Lying under the open sky each night, Asmit Aggarwal gets to gaze at the stars, take in the gentle breeze and listen to crickets.

Unfortunately, the 29-year-old software engineer isn't on some romantic getaway -- he's on his roof.

The au naturel sleeping arrangement is Aggarwal's only way of dealing with the daily power outages across India. Each summer night, as the power -- and air conditioning -- fades, he climbs two flights of stairs with a mattress, sheets, pillow and mosquito-repellant, and tries to sleep on the rooftop.

"It's an everyday thing now," Aggarwal said.

Millions of Indians have become accustomed to crippling power outages caused by a combination of widespread corruption in government-run utilities and the common practice of illegally tapping power from overhead lines.

Residents also tamper with electric meters, and politicians order subsidized or free power for farmers to win votes, pushing utilities to overdraw power and into bankruptcy.

India's power sector has been at the precipice of disaster for decades, a situation exacerbated in the summer by the scorching heat. Power Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu said losses are at $5.4 billion, and that about half of all power is stolen.

The Indian government is trying to pull the power sector back from the brink. Under an ambitious reform program, states are being provided federal subsidies, technical help from institutes and industries, and trained manpower from federal power companies.

They intend to cut the sloth, reduce and train employees, and improve transmission and billing. Power Secretary R.V. Shahi has pledged that power in 15 key affected states would turn around in three years.