IN the midst of his studying, a child suddenly shouts, Blackout! His mother immediately begins lighting candles. Go on studying, the electricity will come on in a while. The child continues studying, while his mother resumes her cooking. But the power does not come back until two or three hours later. No harm done, except for the extra use of candles.

But last Thursdays power failure caused immense chaos in the big cities. Electric trains immediat