UPS prices reach record high due to outages

Prices of gadgets that provide electricity during power outages such as Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) and dry cell batteries are skyrocketing in the city and the manufacturers are fleecing the consumers by taking advantage of countrywide power shortage.
The demand of Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) units, Batteries, power Inverters and Generators has increased manifold due to scheduled and unscheduled power outages. Nowadays, these products are being sold in the market on exorbitant rates.
A dealer of imported and local-made UPS 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.
Other options are also being used by the citizens and the demand of inverters and gas-generators has also increased considerably.
A survey conducted by APP reveals that the prices of gadgets have been steadily rising over last couple of weeks. A locally manufactured UPS of 1000KV, which is being manufactured in small workshops by some unqualified electricians or technicians used to sell for Rs 11,000 to Rs 13000, is now being sold at Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000.
A 130 amp dry battery, which was priced Rs 8,000 up until last month, is now being sold for Rs 9,000 to Rs 10,000 and above.
On the other hand, the prices of high quality and famous brands devices especially 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 only 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 rate of even essential commodities.
It was witnessed during the survey that a large variety of branded UPS and dry-cell batteries are available in the markets especially in the major markets of electronic goods such as Saddar Bazaar,
College Road, Raja Bazaar, Bara Market with different rates starting from Rs 20,000 to Rs 35,000 and some opportunist traders dealing in above said products are earning millions of rupees by overcharging.
In addition, the dealers of such famous manufacturing products are charging prices according to their own will by exploiting the situation.
The traders and dealers of these famous brands in UPS are selling with different rates perhaps due to huge margin of earning in such products which has become part and parcel of life and enlisted as a basic necessity and a substitute of electricity like other daily use products.
The market is also facing an ‘artificial shortage’ of parts of locally manufactured UPS and batteries, because a handful of dealers have formed a cartel to manipulate prices. Customers are complaining that even the higher-priced and locally manufactured UPS do not always work well and have a tendency to break down.
Consumers complained that most UPS manufacturers are using silver wires in the transformers instead of heavy-duty copper wire. A silver wire UPS has a short life span and cannot withstand long spells of power outages, heating up and burning away rather quickly.