By Venkatachari Jagannathan,IANS,
Chennai : As the power situation in Tamil Nadu worsens by the day, manufacturers and sellers of inverters and small gensets admit they have never had it so good.
“In Tamil Nadu, demand from the home segment is on the rise,” G. Indeevar, general manager of sales and marketing at inverter manufacturer Amara Raja Electronics, told IANS.
“There is a 25 percent increase in demand in the city this year,” added M.K. Yogesh, managing director of Royal Enterprises, another inverter manufacturer.
An employee of Whirlpool, white goods major and distributor of uninterrupted power systems (UPS), the demand for inverters has shot up in the state of late.
“In September, we have sold over 3,000 units till date as against the normal monthly average of 2,000 units,” he said.
According to the trade figures, inverters with 600VA (volt-ampere) capacity are the most popular models, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the market. The 800VA inverters have 25 percent of the market share, and the 1.4KV models occupy the rest.
Indeevar said the total the organised market for home UPS is around 30 million units annually, and that its penetration in Tamil Nasu is increasing.
“The frequency and the duration of power cuts are increasing. Only national players can offer efficient charger units that charge the batteries faster,” he said.
However, the price of big brands like Su Kam, Microtek, Whirpool, Xenon and Numeric is a major deterrent for the buyers, as these cost over Rs.10,000, said traders.
Alongside rising demand for home UPS, diesel gensets are also being increasingly sought by commercial establishments in the state.
An official of engineering firm Greaves Cotton Ltd told IANS: “We are witnessing buoyant sales this year. The demand is high in southern Tamil Nadu, which experiences power cuts for hours.”
The company is hoping to sell around 1,000 gensets – powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), petrol and kerosene – against 550 units sold last year, he added.