With the power cut situation worsening, the Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) system manufacturers and sellers were on their toes to meet the growing demand. Stores have run out of stock of branded batteries.
Altaf Sherief, joint secretary of the Coimbatore UPS Manufacturers and Sellers Association, said that power cuts in the past forced people to go in for inverters to tide over power cuts.
This resulted in the demand for UPS from new customers remaining average.
However, the recent increased duration of power cuts resulted in the existing users of UPS seeking “service calls” to attend to breakdown, change of battery. Some users have gone in for upgradation of their systems.
R. Rajagopal, an UPS manufacturer and service provider, said that the number of people demanding inverters and batteries with higher capacity had gone up. Many stores dealing with tubular batteries (the most preferred one for inverters), had run out of stock. Dealers were forced to procure batteries in bulk and stock them for customers who wanted UPS immediately.
He said the demand this year had a couple of months back itself, ahead of the summer.
As many as 60 per cent of the people preferred branded inverters as they were not worried about costs.
The remaining preferred inverters manufactured by local makers, known for better after sales service. Most of the local manufacturers' market composed of customers directed to them through word of mouth.
Most of the UPS manufacturers sold at least three inverters a day to direct customers and an equal number through dealers.
To ensure uninterrupted power to four lights and four fans for two to three hours, the minimum cost involved in purchasing an inverter and a reasonably good battery ranged from is Rs 11,000 to Rs 17,000 plus taxes (150 ampere battery and 800 VA inverter) and for higher capacity of battery to tide over prolonged power cuts, the solution was to go in for 1.5 KVA inverters that cost around Rs 35,000.
Existing UPS users were going for upgradation and those opting for UPS now wanted a low end system, Mr.Rajagopal added.
Another UPS maker said that mini generator manufacturers have started demanding delivery time, ranging from weeks to even months, and this trend had resulted in people opting for UPS as an ad-hoc measure.
