The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has started supplying electricity through an underground distribution system in Pokhara. Under the Pokhara–Bharatpur Distribution System Strengthening Project, the work to convert, strengthen, and automate the electricity distribution system (wires) has been completed, and electricity is now being supplied to customers in the area through this system.

In the first phase, NEA has converted the distribution line underground from the Kundahar 132-11 kV substation in Pokhara to the west, covering areas like Amar Singh Chowk, Buddha Chowk, and extending to the Seti River Bridge. They have supplied electricity to around three hundred customers in this area.

In coordination with the Mugling-Pokhara Road Expansion Project, the authority has converted the transmission and distribution system underground and removed the overhead lines and poles in the area. By burying the wires underground, they have made the area look much more beautiful as the unsightly tangled wires are no longer visible.

Initially, NEA planned to convert only the distribution system up to the Kundahar substation underground. However, they later extended the system to the main entrance of Pokhara International Airport to ensure that passengers arriving would not see the unsightly tangled wires as they exited.

Managing Director of the NEA, Kulman Ghising, monitored the conversion of the distribution system to underground and inspected the progressive supply of electricity in completed areas while removing overhead structures. He also inspected the work in Pokhara's main tourist areas, including Lakeside and the airport.

Ghising directed the Gandaki Regional Office Chief of NEA and the project team to coordinate with local bodies such as the municipality and the road office to complete the remaining work in Lakeside immediately and supply electricity through the underground system.

NEA is converting the 11 kV and 400-volt lines to underground and laying optical fiber in the main city and roads under the Pokhara Distribution Center. Project Chief Anand Subedi stated that the overall construction progress in the Pokhara area is 54 percent. He added that since they have completed work in most of the street areas in Lakeside, they will soon supply electricity through the underground system there as well.

The authority is laying optical fiber along with the electrical wires, enabling internet, telecommunications, and cable television service providers to use the fiber to offer their services. The underground system will be safer than the current overhead distribution system and will help maintain the city's aesthetic beauty by eliminating the tangled wires.

Since the underground distribution system will not be affected by storms, rain, lightning, and other external factors, it will provide reliable, high-quality, and safe electricity. This will reduce the risk of damage to life and property from electrical accidents.

The NEA has started the Pokhara–Bharatpur Distribution System Strengthening Project with its investment and concessional loans from the Asian Development Bank. In mid-September 2021, it signed a contract worth 16.7 million US dollars and Rs 496.8 million with Tata Projects Limited, India, for the construction of the project. They aim to complete the work in the Pokhara area by mid-July 2025.