In the urban areas of Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Chitwan, and the Lakeside area of Pokhara, the Nepal Electricity Authority has been unable to make significant physical progress in the work of undergrounding electric cables.

So far, 80 percent of the work has been completed in Bharatpur, while only 50 percent of the work has been completed in Kundahar and Lakeside areas of Pokhara.

Anand Subedi, Chief Engineer of the Pokhara–Bharatpur Distribution System Strengthening Project, stated that the work to underground the electricity lines in Bharatpur is expected to be completed by the end of this coming Dec/Jan.

According to him, the electricity cables are being undergrounded in the main squares and roads of Bharatpur and Pokhara with the aim of strengthening, automating, and undergrounding the electricity distribution system.

The project’s cost is Rs. 130 million in Pokhara Metropolitan City and Rs. 120 million in Bharatpur Metropolitan City.

Preparation for Third Extension

The Authority had signed a contract with the Indian company Tata Projects Limited on January 20, 2022, to underground the electricity cables. However, since the work could not be completed within the stipulated time, the contract period was extended twice. The second extension ended on June 31.

Since the work could not be completed even within the two previous extensions, the contractor is requesting a third extension. The project chief, Subedi, stated that the contractor has requested an additional 14 months.

With joint investment from the Government of Nepal and the Nepal Electricity Authority, and loan assistance from the Asian Development Bank, the goal was to complete the undergrounding of electricity lines in Bharatpur and Pokhara by January 19, 2024.

However, according to project chief Subedi, problems have arisen due to the contractor company’s delays and various other reasons.

“One year of the contract was spent just on studies. The plan should have been made to last 10–15 years, but a lot of time was spent figuring out the old structures and how to work around them,” said project chief Subedi. “Delays also occurred due to the need to import materials from abroad and because the Road Department does not allow road digging during the three months of the monsoon.”

The project’s deadline was first extended to September 2024 and then a second time to July 31, 2025. However, the work could not be completed within the extended periods.

Project chief Subedi stated that with the next contract extension, there will be a provision to evaluate the reasons for delays or unfinished work, and a penalty of up to 10 percent may be imposed. The extension of the deadline can be approved by the Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority.

Project chief Subedi states that even with some additional work in Bharatpur and Pokhara, the project could not be completed on time.

The contractor has been assigned additional work to underground a 33 kV line from the Bharatpur-11 substation to the Chanouli distribution center. Project chief Subedi mentioned that payment for the additional work will be made based on measurement.

About 3 kilometers of electricity lines have been undergrounded from Bharatpur Oralo to Bhatbhateni, and from there, work is ongoing to transmit electricity overhead to Chanouli.

Similarly, the electricity line from Narangadh Bus Park to Aanpatari via Diyalo Bungalow has also been laid underground. This work is also outside the contract agreement. In Pokhara, work was added from Kundahar to the airport.

How much work has been done in Bharatpur?

The main work of the project in Bharatpur includes undergrounding electricity lines from Aaptari to the Central Bus Terminal, undergrounding from the Central Bus Terminal to Pulchowk in Narayangadh, and adding overhead electricity lines from Pulchowk to Narayangadh Bus Park.

Although the line has been undergrounded from Pulchowk to Central Bus Park Hakimchowk, only the 33 kV transmission line has been undergrounded along nearly 2 kilometers of road from Bus Park to Gondrang.

Currently, all work on the right side (lower side) from Aaptari to Bypass Road has been completed, while 50 percent of the work on the upper side remains.

The main work from the bus park to the north, i.e. the right side, up to the canal has been completed. The work from the canal to Shaheed Chowk is also in the final stages. The work from the bus park to the airport is still pending.

All the pipe laying work in the Bharatpur-Narayangadh area has been completed. Now, only the work of laying cables inside the pipe remains, informed Project Chief Subedi.

The work of installing overhead poles from Pulchowk to Narayangadh Bus Park has been completed. The project has stated that the old poles in this section will be removed after the new poles are installed.

Project chief Subedi said that the section from Bus Park to Pulchowk was not initially included in the contract to lay underground cables, and when they tried to add more later, the contractor refused.

Project chief Subedi stated that if any problem arises while laying the current underground electricity cables, it will not be necessary to shut down power from the substation. “If there is an issue in a particular line, work can be done by checking from the device at that location; there is no need to cut the feeder as before,” said Subedi. “The more houses there are, the more devices are installed; devices are not installed in areas without houses.”

To lay the underground cable, a trench of one and a half to two and a half meters deep has been dug. 12-inch and 16-inch pipes have been inserted into it and the cable has been placed inside.

Project chief Subedi stated that an additional 16-inch pipe is also being placed in each trench. This extra pipe has been installed with the future in mind, to facilitate the Nepal Electricity Authority’s own internet fiber for smart systems as well as fibers for other internet service providers.

In places where no drains are dug, a 2.2-meter-long, 1-meter-deep pit is dug (a chamber is made) and a Horizontal Directional Drill (HDD) tunneling machine is inserted through it to make a hole and install the pipe. Such a pipe is extracted at a distance of 60 to 120 meters.

Cables are laid up to 500 meters along the areas where pipes are installed. In places where devices need to be removed, cables are pulled out even at distances less than 500 meters.

In Pokhara, due to the presence of hard rock, only 30% of the work could be done by machines, and the remaining 70% of the canal was dug manually by workers, according to Project Chief Subedi.

How much work has been done in Pokhara?

According to Project Chief Subedi, a 1.2-kilometer line from Kundahar Substation to Prithvi Chowk in Pokhara has already been laid underground. Similarly, the project claims that the work to lay an approximately 1-kilometer-long power line underground from Kundahar to the international airport will be completed within this August. The work from Kundahar to the airport was added later.

The work from Prithvi Chowk to Zero Kilometer is still pending. From Zero Kilometer to Lakeside, work is currently underway, according to Project Chief Suvedi. About 50% of the work in Lakeside has been completed.

“Since Lakeside in Pokhara is also a tourist area, the plan is to lay the wires underground up to the houses and make Lakeside more beautiful. The work has been a bit delayed; if the contractor had worked continuously, it could have been finished by now,” said Project Chief Subedi. “In the Lakeside area, the presence of hard rock meant that underground machines could not be used, and workers had to manually dig channels to lay the cables, which also took time.

He mentioned that the work was also hampered because it was difficult to convince locals in various areas. “It was like people were attached to the poles in front of their houses; we heard questions like why they should be removed, reluctance to quickly accept change, and concerns that it wouldn’t be in front of their own house,” said Project Chief Subedi. “The work gets delayed further when the contractor tries to hide their shortcomings in addition to dealing with such obstacles,” he added.

The line up to Tikauli in Chitwan will also be laid underground, but the sidewalk will need to be broken.

In the section from Bharatpur Bus Park to Tikauli Jungle in Chitwan, which was initially excluded from the contract but later added, the Electricity Authority has approved a file to lay the 11 kV power line underground. It is estimated that an additional 150 million NPR will be required just to make it underground.

Even before the expansion of the Gondrang-Pulchowk 6-lane road, the 33 kV power line from Bharatpur to Tandi was undergrounded on the north (upper side), but the 11 kV line is currently overhead. The Authority has conducted a technical assessment as per the request made by Bharatpur Metropolitan City to make it underground as well.

However, since the service lane of the newly constructed six-lane road would have to be demolished, the Authority has not received approval from the Road Department. The Metropolitan City plans to lay the 11 kV line underground to homes and businesses, ensuring that no overhead wires remain in the area.

Project Chief Subedi stated that due to a lack of coordination among government agencies, there is an obligation to demolish the service lane. “The 33 kV line is already underground on the upper-side footpath. It is not possible to lay the 11 kV HT and LT lines there,” said Project Chief Subedi. “In the lower area, the 11 kV line can be laid on the footpath, but in the upper area it has to go through the service lane, and it is difficult to demolish the newly constructed road.”

12 times more expensive than overhead.

Officials say that laying power lines underground is nearly 12 times more expensive than overhead lines. Project Chief Subedi stated that the Authority has undertaken this not as a profit–loss matter but as a social responsibility. “After laying the line underground, the Authority cannot charge any additional fees; the amount remains the same,” said Project Chief Subedi. “Yet, the Authority is carrying out this expensive work even at a loss, considering it its duty.”

Project Chief Subedi believes that the Authority has invested in laying electric cables underground as a social responsibility because it contributes to urban beautification, citizen safety, theft and leakage control, reduced lightning-related issues, and provides a quality, maintenance-free electrical system.

The project has stated that the system has been developed to withstand the load for the next 10 years.

Source: OnlineKhabar