With the power situation such in winter, what's in store for India this summer, barely three months away, when demand increases? For, across the country, we seem to be headed down a one-way street to hell as far as power is concerned. In Haryana, a desperate state government has snapped power supply to all industrial units consuming one megawatt or more for 10 days beginning January 7. Not that it makes much difference. Take a look at the power availability per day for the Whirlpool refrigerator factory at Faridabad from December 23 till January 6: nine hours, four hours, 11 hours, nine hours and 50 minutes, zero, 16 hours, nine, nine, 45 minutes, five hours and 25 minutes, zero, zero, 14 hours and 40 minutes, zero. Says Asim Kumar Talukdar, director-human resources: "Without regular power supply, we face problems of productivity, competitive disadvantage and sagging employee morale. We've so far had excellent industrial relations, but God forbid if we have to resort to statutory measures like layoff if the power situation deteriorates." In Maharashtra, the most industrialised state in the country, there is a power shortfall of 10 per cent, even after drawing electricity from the Western region electricity board grid. Last June,the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) radically hiked tariffs for all consumers to make Maharashtra power rates possibly the highest in the world. Chief minister Manohar Joshi says the hike was necessary since MSEB had been asked by the World Bank to ensure a rate of return of 4.5 per cent on assets. But after the hike, around 90 induction furnace plants in the state have already closed down, unable to afford the higher rates and too small to set up captive generating plants. Dozens of rerolling mills and smelting units are facing closure. Thousands of small-scale units in the state are now threatening to go on strike.