Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has stepped up efforts to lay underground electricity lines in the major locations outside the Kathmandu Valley in a bid to improve its electricity distribution system throughout the country.

On February 18, 2020, the NEA for the first time started its underground electricity distribution system work from its distribution centers located in Ratnapark and Maharajgunj in Kathmandu. The state-owned power utility has targeted to remove all electricity poles from the valley by the end of fiscal year 2022/23.

In its successive move, the NEA is now building similar distribution lines in Bharatpur Metropolitan City of Chitwan district. NEA Managing Director Kulman Ghising and Chairman of CPN (Maoist Center) Pushpa Kamal Dahal jointly laid the foundation stones in Bharatpur on Saturday.

According to the NEA, it has now started work for the Pokhara-Bharatpur Distribution System Enhancement Project (PBDSEP). At the first phase, the NEA is building the underground cable system in Bharatpur city areas.

NEA is replacing the existing distribution system with capacity of 33 kV in 36 km, 11 kV in 75 km and 400 volts in 70 km by underground electricity wires in the main city areas of Bharatpur. Likewise, the optical fiber will be laid in a 26 km stretch while the capacity of existing transformers will also be upgraded.

After the country entered the state of surplus electricity production, the NEA has now focused on improving its infrastructure as people are facing problems of frequent electricity tripping.

The NEA Managing Director Kulman Ghising said the underground distribution ensures higher safety and more efficiency compared to the overhead distribution system. According to him, it will also facilitate the use of smart technology to ensure improved quality of electricity supply.

Ghising said, with the improvement of the distribution system, NEA will be focusing on increasing domestic consumption as well as export of electricity. He claimed that Nepal will be exporting electricity worth Rs 200 billion to India in the next five years.

The NEA has awarded the PBDSEP to Tata Project Ltd, India. The project will be funded through NEA’s capital investment and loan amounts from the Asian Development Bank. Of the estimated cost of USD 16.7 million and Rs 496.80 million for the entire project, USD 7.90 million and Rs 222.30 million will be invested in Bharatpur based underground distribution system.