Pokhara facing daily five-hour power cuts

KATHMANDU: Pokhara will face a daily five-hour power outage from today through Jan 4 as the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) undertakes critical upgrade works at the Kundahar Substation.

According to Jitendra Yadav, Chief of the Pokhara Distribution Centre, electricity supply will be suspended from 6:00 am to 11:00 am for four consecutive days to facilitate busbar upgradation at the 132 kV Kundahar Substation under the Pokhara Grid Division.

“The NEA had called a tender for the maintenance of the 132 kV busbar at the Kundahar Substation. As per the schedule, repair works have begun today, requiring a shutdown of all feeders supplied from the Kundahar Grid,” Yadav said, adding that prior public notice had been issued.

The outage will affect most areas of Pokhara, from Bijayapur at the city’s eastern entry point to Harichowk, the distribution centre said.

Power may be restored earlier than scheduled if the maintenance work is completed ahead of time.

Normal electricity supply will resume once the busbar repairs are fully concluded.

Pokhara Metropolitan City Calls for Wire-Free Market Areas

Meanwhile, Pokhara Metropolitan City has urged internet service providers (ISPs) to cooperate in its plan to make the city’s market areas wire-free as part of a broader urban beautification and infrastructure modernization drive.

In line with the NEA’s ongoing project to underground power lines across a 23-kilometre stretch of the city, the metropolis is exploring the possibility of integrated underground installation of electricity, telephone, and internet cables. Discussions with ISPs have been initiated to advance coordinated implementation.

The metropolitan city has also requested service providers to immediately remove unnecessary and haphazard cables currently hanging from utility poles. Mayor Dhanraj Acharya asked providers to coordinate closely with the NEA and complete the task promptly.

“We have requested internet service providers to support the wire-free Pokhara initiative. The metropolitan city is ready to provide all necessary assistance for this work,” Mayor Acharya said. He added that providers have been given one month to remove the cables, failing which the city will proceed with removal on its own.

A technical committee has been formed to oversee cable management, and ISPs will be formally integrated into the NEA-led cable removal and undergrounding campaign.

60 Percent of Underground Cabling Completed

Under the Electricity Distribution System Strengthening Project, the NEA is currently undergrounding power lines along major urban corridors, including the stretch from Pokhara International Airport to Prithvichowk, extending through Srijanachowk, Ratnachowk, Rastra Bank Chowk, Shahid Chowk, Lakeside, Hallanchowk, and onward to Bulaundi and Zero Kilometre.

The project aims to complete underground cabling across 23 kilometres by July, with 60 percent of the work already finished, said Anand Subedi, Chief of the Pokhara–Bharatpur Distribution System Strengthening Project.

Priority is being given to key urban centres and high-tourist-traffic areas, where cables are being laid beneath the ground and electricity is then supplied directly to households.

The NEA is using Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) technology to minimize road damage during installation.

Once completed, the project is expected to eliminate visual clutter from overhead wires and poles, significantly enhancing Pokhara’s urban aesthetics and improving the reliability of its power distribution system.