ISLAMABAD : Battery makers in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi are fully cashing in on the situation by pushing up the rates in the wake of surging demand of UPS as the load-shedding has brought miseries to the people ahead of peak summer season. A dealer of imported and local-made UPS while talking to APP said the demand for the locally made UPS has almost doubled while the demand for Chinese UPS is noticing downward trend as it is costly while on the other hand, its repair charges are also high. Majority of the wholesalers and retailers told that the demand for back-up power supplies has increased, since everyone is anticipating the worst power outages.
Abatteries seller Hashim Khan at Apabara market said that the demand
of the batteries is so high that he orders one container on weekly basis but all the stock finishes within a day and he has to wait for another six days to get the next consignment.
Muhammad Usman , dealer of imported and local-made UPS at Blue Area,
said the demand for the locally made UPS has almost doubled while the demand for Chinese UPS is low, mainly because it is costly while on the other hand if there is any problem, the repair charges are also high.
A locally manufactured UPS of 1000 KV, which is being manufactured in small workshops by some unqualified electricians or technicians used to sell for Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000, is now being sold at Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000.
On the other hand, the prices of high quality and famous brands devices of UPS are going beyond the purchasing power of the common man and the member of a lower middle class family and only those well off people could buy such luxury cum essential product while the different segments of the society are unable to afford such facilities due to their poor purchasing power in an era of serious high inflation.
Despite shrinking purchasing power, many people have turned to generators, since UPS had failed to provide relief to the public during the extended hours of load shedding.