The reduction in duty of the power generators will only give relief to the rich and business community as the small size generators are not being sold in the markets and the price of bigger size generators were out of the reach of the common people.
The running cost of any type of generators is also unaffordable for the common man. In Lahore markets, minimum 5KVA are the smallest size of generators, which are available while the 1KVA to 4KVA generators were out of stock.
Presently, Chinese generators have dominated the markets because of the low price, but the people prefer to buy a Japanese one because of its durability and low maintenance cost.
The government has waived the import duty from the 1KVA to 5KVA generators to give some relief to the people who are suffering from the regular power outages in the country. But in markets, dealers have old stock, which they imported at previous duty structure so the prices of various category generators are yet to decline.
The price of 1KVA Chinese generators in the markets is Rs 7,500 and Japanese 1KVA generators were not available. A survey conducted by Business Recorder from the Lahore markets showed that small generators were unavailable in the market. On the other hand, 5KVA Japanese generators' price starts from Rs 24,000 and closes at Rs 30,000. Similarly the price range of 5KVA Chinese generators was Rs 18,000 to Rs 22,000 of different brands. But because of the cheaper quality, consumers never rely on Chinese ones.
Sheikh Ali Rasheed, a dealer of Japanese and Chinese generators at the Safina Machinery Centre located on Brandreth Road, said smaller generators were yet to make any place in the local market.
"The running cost of a smaller generator for long hour is out of the reach of common man," he said adding that 1KVA generators produced 800 to 1000-watt electricity. He said that with one-litre petrol, 1KVA generators could run two hours and 15 minutes and around 4 fans and 6 to 8 tube lights could operate during the said period.
Talking about the 5KVA generators, Rasheed said that with one litre petrol 5KVA generators could run only for one hour or so. He said that with 5KVA generators, 1.5 ton split air conditioners could operate along with maximum 3 fans and 5 tube lights.
He further told that a generator could also be run with gas after installing gas kit. "The price of gas conversion kit for 5KVA generators is Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,800 and installation charges are Rs 100," he added.
Talking about the running cost of generators through gas, he said it reduced 15 to 18 percent as compared to petrol. Ali Khalid, a local trader of generators at Brandreth Road said that sale of small generators was yet a dream to come true. He said that running of small generators was unaffordable for a common man. Firstly the price of small generators is out of range of common man, secondly the running cost of the generators was unbearable for them, he remarked. He said that presently the most available stock of generators started from 15KVA to above, which was commonly used in home, offices and small industries units. "The price of 15KVA generators is Rs 175,000, 25KVA generators is Rs 250,000 and 50KVA generators is Rs 975,000," he said. Brands of Perkins, Duetz, Comins, Kipor and United Power are freely available in market, he added.
When contacted, Chief Executive Millat Brands, Sohail Bashir Rana said the performance of local brand generator is better with a low price too. He said the government should support the local brand manufacturers.
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