NEA’s ambitious underground electricity lines installation going at a snail’s pace

Kathmandu; In a bid to manage properly the overhead electricity cables and power supply system and to increase the reliability of the electricity distribution system, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) put forth its plans to construct underground electricity distribution systems in major cities of the Kathmandu Valley in the fiscal year 2018/2019. However, the work has been moving in snail pace even after three years of inception of the work.

As of now, only 60 percent of the work has been accomplished in Maharajgunj area while only 40 percent progress has been achieved in Ratnapark-based distribution system. Similarly, work progress in Kirtipur, Balaju and Bhaktapur is just 25 percent.

At present, the Project Management Directorate (PMD) under the NEA is working to install 1,117 km of 400-volt underground line in different parts of the Kathmandu valley. The NEA has installed optical fiber with 480 million cable lines to control the distribution network through underground systems. In order to properly manage and distribute electric supply, the NEA has decided to use eight to ten lines and lease the remaining lines to providers of utility services that include internet, cable and telephone, among others. 

Under the pilot project, NEA had announced plans to start the installation process in areas that fall under Ratnapark and Maharajgunj distribution centers in 2020.  A 217 km of 11 kV high tension line and 400km of low tension line are currently being constructed in areas under the Ratnapark distribution center and a 276 km of 11 kV high tension line and 390 km of low tension line in areas under Maharajgunj distribution centers. Although the project was scheduled to complete in three years, the installation of underground lines in Maharajgunj and Ratnapark sections has not been able to complete on time and will take another six months or more to reach completion.

Factors like the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing road construction, among others, have delayed the installation process, according to the NEA.

The NEA has also started to expand underground installations in western areas of Kathmandu, namely, from Kuleshwor, Baneshwor, Balaju, Baneshwor, Jorpati, Kirtipur distribution centers and in Bhaktapur and Lalitpur as well. 

According to Tara Prasad Pradhan, director at the NEA, underground cable laying works to upgrade the distribution system have been divided into four sections and their construction is underway in different parts of Kathmandu Valley. The project started from two distribution centers in the initial phase, namely; under Ratnapark, and Maharajgunj distribution centers. Similarly, works related to underground cable laying have started in the western region of the valley under Kuleshwor, Balaju, Baneshwar, Jorpati, and Kirtipur distribution centers and in areas that fall under Bhaktapur and Lalitpur distribution centers through different contracts. 

The work progress of laying underground cables under the Maharajgunj and Ratnapark distribution centers is near completion and is expected to complete in the next six months or more. The physical progress under the Maharajgunj and Ratnapark distribution centers is just 75 percent and 65 percent, respectively. Likewise, 50 percent of the work related to the installation of underground distribution lines in locations west of Kathmandu has been completed.

Meanwhile, the contract for laying underground lines in Bhaktapur and Lalitpur was handed over to the construction company a year ago and the process of procuring necessary equipment, and designing, among other work, has already started. 

Installation of underground lines has been started from Thimi, following which we will start installation works in Bhaktapur and Lalitpur respectively. The primary focus of this project is to reduce the burden on the existing Bhaktapur Baneshwor-Patan single-circuit 66 kV transmission line. The scope includes the construction of a 132 kV double circuit underground cable transmission line approximately 12 km in length from the existing Bhaktapur substation to the newly proposed 132/11 kV, 2x45 MVA, and 132/66kV, 2x63 MVA GIS substation at Koteshwor via newly proposed Thimi 132/11kV, 90 MVA GIS substation. This project also includes an approximately 2 km stretch of 66 kV double-circuit underground transmission line from the newly proposed Koteshwor substation to the existing Baneshwor substation and necessary bay extension works at both ends of the transmission line. The cost of each contract under NEA's plans to install underground distribution lines in the valley has been estimated to be around $25 million, while they are projected to be completed in the next three years.

Moreover, the NEA has already awarded the contracts to install underground lines in Pokhara and Bharatpur. The process for procurement of equipment and design is near completion, while the necessary works are expected to start soon. "We have planned to install underground lines covering 120 km/11 kV high tension line and 80 km/110 V low tension line in Pokhara and 110 km/11 kV of high latency line and 100 km/110 V low latency line in Bharatpur,” Pradhan added. 

Despite ongoing progress, the project has witnessed some hindrances in its timely completion. “There are multiple factors affecting our progress to install underline cables within the designated deadline. We have to take permission from the Department of Roads (DoR) to dig at certain areas and the delay in receiving approval for continuing work in some sections from the DoR has affected our progress,” Pradhan said.

The NEA says it has speeded up the installation process in some areas which have been disconnected from roads. While doing so, the authority faces some hassles due to roads undergoing construction and some other areas which are under the direct supervision of the DoR. The NEA has expedited the process of receiving approval from the authorities concerned in order to give continuity for completion of its task. “After receiving the approval, the NEA has taken the work for completion as soon as possible,” Pradha explained.

Apart from ensuring proper management of overhead distribution lines and improved reliability of electric distribution, the installation of underground distribution lines is also expected to minimize the risk of the lines getting cut and creating disturbances in supply, while also giving an aesthetically pleasing look to the distribution mechanism. Furthermore, the NEA says that it has already constructed a smart distribution control center which will allow the authority to constantly monitor the power flow in the distribution network and control it. “This will increase the reliability of supply and quality of distribution and help decrease power tripping, among other improvements,” he added. 

At present, underground lines are being installed only in major areas of the Kathmandu Valley, where there are issues with poor network and distribution. The installation of overhead lines will still be extended in the areas that are far from the high-density areas. Pradhan assured that if there are still any underlying issues in places apart from the areas the project is currently being implemented in, the NEA will introduce an installation of underground line packages for such areas when it is deemed necessary.  

Issues with smart meters
Materializing its plan, the NEA has also moved forward to implement techno-savvy distribution system. For this purpose, the authority is investing billions of rupees to replace electromechanical meters with smart meters and development of smart grids, and distribution command and control centers, along with the installation of data centers. 

The NEA says it has already installed 98,000 smart meters in the Kathmandu Valley alone, while the work is going on in a number of locations across the country.

Rabindra Shrestha, deputy manager at the NEA said the authority has decided to install 100,000 smart meters across the Kathmandu valley in the initial phase of the project and is currently working on making necessary preparations to call for tender bids to procure 600,000 units of smart meters for this purpose. “We have already completed our target of installing about 100,000 smart meters from Maharajganj and Ratnapark distribution centers. We are also preparing to call for tenders for the installation of smart meters across the remaining areas of the valley and have plans to start the next phase of the project this fiscal year,” Shrestha said. 

The NEA’s bidding process to procure smart meters has prompted controversies, while it has been suspected that for this reason, the customers will have to suffer problem of substandard metering. Shrestha, however, refused the allegation. “The tendering process has been solved. We have not received any complaints regarding issues of smart meters and the readings produced by the new meters have been accurate so far.” 

According to the NEA, citing the reliability of the smart meters, there is a growing demand from electricity users for installation of the devices. Despite the surging demand, the NEA has been unable to take the installation of smart meters at a faster pace as the authority has run out of stock of the equipment. 

“When we opened bidding for the project three years ago, there were a very low number of customers who wanted to shift to smart meters. Over the years, the number of people requesting smart meter installation in their homes has increased significantly,” said Shrestha. 

Meanwhile, the NEA will be opening a tender for the installation of smart meters in the remaining areas of the Kathmandu Valley after an assessment of the project progress. NEA claims that initially it had faced some minor issues regarding the use of smart meters, which however, have been solved and there are no issues including the incorrect reading by these advanced equipment at present

This feature news is taken from the Urja Khabar bi-annual Journal year 2, issue-3 published on 16th December, 2022