Power supply from India’s Adani power plant to Bangladesh resumed partially on Saturday evening following a complete 17-hour shutdown caused by technical faults in both of its generation units.
The coal-fired plant, located in Godda, Jharkhand, has a total capacity of 1,600 megawatts (MW), distributed across two 800MW units.
The outage began late Friday when both units went offline, suspending power exports to Bangladesh and raising concerns over increased load shedding.
According to officials from the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) and the Power Development Board (PDB), one unit resumed generation at approximately 6:15 pm on Saturday, providing some relief to the national grid.
Prior to the disruption, the plant had been supplying up to 1,400MW of electricity. After the first unit went offline on April 8, the second unit continued to supply over 750MW until both units shut down late Friday.
However, with both units down for most of Saturday, many areas across the country experienced load shedding, particularly during peak demand hours.
Electricity demand peaked at 14,000MW at around 3 pm on Saturday, with load shedding reaching 428MW. In the preceding two hours, the shortfall had exceeded 300MW, prompting the authorities to ramp up generation from oil-fired plants and request additional gas supplies from Petrobangla.
PDB member (Generation) Md Zahurul Islam confirmed that increased oil-fired generation helped alleviate some of the day's shortfall.
“We had to scale up oil-fired production and sought extra gas supplies. The restoration of one Adani unit is certainly a relief,” he said.
The Adani plant has been at the centre of recurring controversies regarding pricing and delayed payments. In 2024, the electricity supply was disrupted due to unpaid dues, which were subsequently cleared. Although both units have been operating consistently since March 2025, negotiations over coal pricing and outstanding payments are still ongoing.
PDB sources report that Adani’s current outstanding dues have decreased to $500 million.
The plant commenced commercial operations in April 2023 with its first unit, followed by the second unit in June. Bangladesh signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with Adani in 2017.
An interim committee of the caretaker government is currently reviewing the agreement amid growing scrutiny over coal pricing and energy security.
With summer temperatures rising and the Pahela Baishakh festivities approaching, ensuring a stable and reliable power supply remains a pressing priority for the government and utility providers.
Bd-pratidin English/FNC
