ISLAMABAD, May 20: As power outages increased with the rise in temperatures, the prices of uninterrupted power supply (UPS) machines and its batteries have gone up by 10 to 30 per cent in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Faced with prolonged power outages, the residents have no other option but to buy the UPS in the ‘black’ market.

Shams Niazi, a resident of Islamabad and father of three children, said on May 16 morning he visited a battery shop at Saddar and was told that the price of a 190 ampere battery was Rs11,200. He visited another shop and learnt that a 750 watts battery was available for Rs8,000.

Mr Niazi said he borrowed money from a friend and went to the shop in the evening but the shopkeeper demanded Rs12,200 for the same battery.

He also checked the price of a UPS and was shocked to learn that it had also been increased by Rs1,000.

“I had hardly arranged Rs20,000 and was thinking to install a UPS on this amount. So I decided to wait for two or three days to arrange some more money because my children have been spending sleepless nights due to the sweltering heat,” he said.

“On May 20, I finally arranged the amount and went to the market but was informed that the 190 ampere battery was not available but it could be purchased from the black market at Rs16,000. On the other hand, the UPS is now being sold at Rs10,000,” he said.

There are scores of other residents facing a similar problem.

On the other hand, the district administrations seem oblivious to the issue of uncontrolled prices.

Samiullah, another resident, said he purchased a UPS with a battery but faced another problem.

“The electrician who fixes UPS refused to give me time saying he had been booked in advance.”

Mr Samiullah said he requested the electrician to come in the late hours and do the wiring.

“He told me that if I want to have open wiring he will charge me Rs2,000. But when I asked for concealed wiring he demanded Rs5,000 for my double-storey house.”

He said rich people can afford using generators and UPS irrespective of their prices but those belonging to the middle and lower middle class were facing hardship due to the changing prices.

Mohammad Ramzan, a wholesale battery dealer, said last week the companies had revised the prices of UPS batteries.

“Now we are also facing problems. The company is supplying batteries to those dealers who are ready to pay more than the market price.

We have no choice but to sell the batteries in the black,” he said.

According to the Met Office, the heatwave in the country will continue for another three to four days.