Dhaka: Adani group unit Adani Power Jharkhand (APJL) has cut down half of its power supply to Bangladesh as outstanding bills pile up to the tune of $846 million, according to data from the Power Grid Bangladesh. As a result, Bangladesh faced a shortfall 1,600 megawatts (MW) of power on the night of Thursday and Friday.
APJL slashed its production to 700 MW from its stated capacity of 1,496 MW. Adani Power had earlier conveyed an October 30, 2024, deadline to Bangladesh’s power secretary for the clearance of outstanding dues. The last date was mentioned in a communication dated October 27, 2024, Bangladesh’s The Daily Star reported.
In its letter, the port to retail conglomerate stated that it will have to take remedial action failing the payment of dues under the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) on October 31. The company also raised the issue of a pending letter of credit (LC) worth $170.03 million from Bangladesh Krishi Bank, according to the report.
Why is Adani Group cutting Bangladesh’s power supply?
While Adani Group cited non-payment of dues as a reason for slashing the supply, Power Development Board stated that a portion of the dues had been cleared earlier. However, Adani Group is reportedly charging $22 million as opposed to previous weekly payments worth $18 million by the PDB, the news daily reported. This has led to a rise in outstanding dues, PDB officials said.
The Krishi Bank LC was attributed to a shortage of US dollars, according to the officials. They also added that a supplementary deal was signed with Adani Group required the conglomerate to charge lower coal rates. However, once the contract expired, Adani Group went back to quoting higher rates, according to the report.
Adani Group has sought the repayment of dues from the interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. The power supply deal was inked under ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
