As Adani Power’s arrears with Bangladesh reach nearly $1 billion, the coal-to-power conglomerate may begin reducing power supply from its Godda (Jhankhand) plant to neighboring India from the next week. However, a complete shutdown of supply seems unlikely.

Sources said the political, financial and economic crisis in Bangladesh is having a serious impact on its energy situation as the country is unable to procure US dollars to pay for the electricity it imports from India .

The Ahmedabad-based conglomerate had, in September 2024, informed Bangladesh that it would stop supplying electricity if essential payments for the purchase of coal for the operation of the Godda plant were not made.

Bangladesh is expected to spend around $200-250 million, the amount needed to import coal so that the Godda power plant can operate at its optimum capacity.

At present, Bangladesh receives around 730-750 MW of electricity out of the total 1,496 MW. As of November 3, Bangladesh has received around 730 MW from the 1,600 MW Godda ultra-supercritical thermal power plant.

A senior government official said the issue is between the company (Adani Power) and Bangladesh. However, he stressed that a complete shutdown “seems far-fetched”.

“Both parties want to resolve the problem. The payment problem involves US dollars, which Bangladesh is unable to procure. But the government is working on solutions,” added the official.

Rising contributions

Sources said the total unpaid dues had reached nearly $1 billion. Bangladesh already owes around $846 million to Adani Power. The issuance of a $170 million letter of credit (LoC) by Bangladesh Krishi Bank is also facing problems as it does not comply with the terms of the power purchase agreement (PPA).

On Sunday, November 3, 2024, Press Secretary to Bangladesh Chief Advisor Shafiqul Alam said during a media interaction that he had not received any “correspondence” from Adani Power on reducing the electricity supply.

He highlighted that efforts were being made to expedite payments to Adani Power. Alam said $97 million was paid to Adani in October, double what was paid in September 2024.

Adani Power’s Godda plant accounts for about 10 percent of the electricity consumed by Bangladesh. The problem becomes critical as almost 20 to 25 percent of the electricity consumed by the domestic industry in Bangladesh is supplied by Adani.