Adani Power has fully restored electricity supply to Bangladesh after the country resumed regular payments for the first time in four months.
The supply was halved in November 2023 due to missed payments, with outstanding dues estimated between $650 million and $900 million.
Rezaul Karim, chairman of Bangladesh's Power Development Board (BPDB), told Bloomberg on March 27 that payments have resumed and power is now being supplied according to Bangladesh's requirements. However, the specific payment amounts and the status of past arrears were not disclosed.
The dispute began when Bangladesh faced a foreign exchange shortage, delaying payments to Adani Power. This led to the shutdown of one of the two units at Adani’s 1,600-megawatt coal-fired plant in Jharkhand, India, which supplies electricity exclusively to Bangladesh. Following the supply reduction, the plant was operating at just 42% capacity.
Adani Power signed a 25-year agreement with Bangladesh in 2017 under former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. However, a pricing dispute over power tariffs, calculated using an average of two indices, has added to the complications.
Adani’s power costs about 55% more than the average price of other Indian electricity supplied to Bangladesh. BPDB has reportedly been paying $85 million per month to clear outstanding dues and has instructed Adani to resume full supply, including from the second unit.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
