DVB generates market for invertors

NEW DELHI, June 2: Inventor and generator manufacturers are having a windfall this summer. The industry that thrives on power problems which...

NEW DELHI, June 2: Inventor and generator manufacturers are having a windfall this summer. The industry that thrives on power problems which has become a norm in the national capital every summer, has received an added boost from record-breaking temperatures and unprecedented power cuts this season.

Introduced in the market less than a decade ago and till recently considered a luxury, invertors seem to have become a necessity as hapless Delhiites reel under DVB8217;s announced as well as unannounced loadshedding and local faults. It is the middle class which seems to be fuelling the demand for invertors. S.J. Raja who owns Aidance Invertors in Noida says that the demand for invertors this year has been far more than that in the preceding years. 8220;A large number of people who don8217;t even know much about invertors are coming in daily to get a first-hand information. A majority of them end up buying the product,8221; he says. Raja says that as against the 400 invertors he sold last year, around 350 pieces have already been sold. 8220;The demand will increase in the near future,8221; he adds.

Mukesh Kumar, an engineer with an invertor manufacturing firm says: 8220;We have already sold around 250 invertors which is almost 10 times what we sold last year,8221; he adds.

8220;Though the demand for invertors has increased considerably this season but at the same time the number of manufacturers dealing in the product have also increased,8221; says Pramod who also deals in invertors.

Invertors run on batteries and can provide power for six to seven hours at a stretch. They usually range between 300 to 2,000 watt. The invertors can be used to run fans, coolers, television and lights. Air conditioners, however, cannot be run with the help of invertors.

According to dealers, the maximum demand is for 400- to 500-watt invertors. 8220;Most middle-class families require that the invertor run a couple of fans, two to three lights and perhaps TV,8221; says a dealer, 8220;And the 500-watt invertor is ideal for that.8221; A dealer in Tilak Nagar claims that he sells around four to five invertors a day.

Middle-class families find invertors much more economical as compared to generators. Whereas the price range of invertors ranges from Rs 7,000 to 15,000 which is inclusive of batteries, trolley, installation charges and tax, the starting range of a local-make generator is around Rs 17,000 and that of a branded generator, Rs 30,000.

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However, even the demand for generators is considerably higher than last year. Sunil Kumar of the Asian Engineering Company, Ghaziabad, says: 8220;The demand for generators is so much that markets have literally run out of stock.8221;

Generators range between 5 kilowatt to 20 kilowatt and it is basically the 5-kilowatt generator which is in great demand since it is ideal for domestic purposes.

The demand for NIG whitelights which cost between Rs 150 to 400 and have an average life of over 10,000 hours, has also gone up this summer. Its low power consumption and bright light makes it an ideal combination with the invertor.

Businessmen at Punjabi Market and Kamala Market, where there are around 150 wholesale and retail shops of coolers, exhaust fans, and pumps say that this year the demand for these goods has overshot supply. 8220;In the last two years the demand for coolers was low, but this year because of the heat wave the demand has increased,8221; says Raja, a retailer. The cost of the coolers varies between Rs 1,300 to 3,000.

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