Adani Power did not respond to queries on the payment deadline.
New Delhi: Barely three days ahead of the November 7 deadline set by the Indian company Adani Power, Bangladesh has expedited the payment of a huge amount of more than $800 million it owes to the company. Adani Power has cut electricity exports to Bangladesh by more than half due to payment issues by India’s eastern neighbour. This was corroborated by two senior government officials said.
Adani Power exports electricity to Bangladesh from its 1,600 megawatt (MW) Godda plant in Jharkhand. It has set the deadline for receipt of dues as it faces challenges in importing coal necessary for power generation, three sources familiar with the matter said.
The Gautam Adani owned company reduced the power supply to Bangladesh this month to 700-800 MW from around 1,400 MW, a senior official at the Bangladesh Power Development Board told news agency Reuters.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak with the media.
Adani Power did not respond to Reuters’ queries on the payment deadline.
Bangladesh has been struggling to pay its bills due to costly fuel and goods imports since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The political turmoil that led to the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August has also compounded its troubles.
“Last month, we cleared $96 million, and this month, a letter of credit has been opened for an additional $170 million,” Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, the power and energy adviser in the interim Bangladesh government, told Reuters.
Last month, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Bangladesh was scrutinising its contract with Adani Power, as it was charging Bangladesh a rate nearly 27% higher than those of India’s other private producers.
Adani Power Chief Financial Officer Dilip Kumar Jha, in a quarterly earnings conference call last week, said there were no issues related to the power supply to Bangladesh.
“We hope that there will be no further deterioration in terms of the outstanding,” he said.
Adani Power Jharkhand Limited (APJL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Power, stopped half of its power supply to Bangladesh because of outstanding bills of USD 846 million, according to a local media report on Friday, November 1. Data from Power Grid Bangladesh PLC showed the Adani plant reduced supply on Thursday night, The Daily Star newspaper said.
Bangladesh reported a shortfall of more than 1,600 megawatts (MW) on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday as the 1,496 MW plant is now producing 700 MW from a single unit, the newspaper reported.
(With PTI and Reuters inputs)