The late July power grid outages in northern and eastern India crippled cities and disrupted public transport, hospitals, schools and industry. India's electricity demand has vastly outstripped the supply due to the country's high growth rates over the past several years. The blackout was yet another warning to the government, though the country's energy constraints are so deeply institutionalized that it will be very difficult for the fundamental causes of the electricity crunch to be addressed in any meaningful or efficient manner. Several factors led to the blackout. Hot summer weather caused a large demand for air conditioning, and the monsoon season began late, which raised rural electricity demand for pumps used to pull out ground water to compensate for deficient rains in the farmlands. The little rainfall also affected the country's hydroelectric dams. The country is also experiencing fuel problems, such as the depletion of natural gas in the Bay of Bengal. Coal is still a major energy source as well, and the coal industry in India is monopolized by the state. Many power stations have not been able to adjust to increases in coal pricing, and domestic environmental concerns have impeded the few private coal stations.
