In recent months, we have seen improvements in Bangladesh’s payment patterns for the mounting dues for electricity supply from the Adani Godda power project. However, the Adani Group has pointed out that these payments barely cover the current monthly bills. This has led to the accumulation of a staggering outstanding amount of 845 million USD out of which 771 million USD is still overdue and untouched.
Adani Implores The Bangladesh Government To Clear The Mounting Dues For The Power Project:
The Adani Godda project was regarded as a symbol of growing energy cooperation between India and Bangladesh. This project was expected to lower Bangladesh’s power price. However, it has now become a centre of financial and diplomatic strain. Even with the outstanding dues, the Adani Group has continued to supply power in Bangladesh. However, the dues have become so high that it has really become difficult for the Adani Group to clear the payments related to the project and still continue to supply electricity in an effortless manner. So, it has urged the Bangladesh government to clear the dues. Meanwhile, the Adani Group has also requested a payment roadmap from the Interim Government of Bangladesh for settling the 845 million USD dues in unpaid bills for power export from the Adani Godda power plant.
Adani’s Letter To The Bangladesh Government:
In a letter dated January 6th addressed to the Finance Advisor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed and Power and Energy Advisor Fouzul Kabir Khan, the Adani Group has expressed the urgency in resolving the mounting dues while also discussing future power supply arrangements. The Bangladesh government has also confirmed receiving the letter from the Adani Group. Since the commencement of power supply in 2023 from the Adani Godda power plant, the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has not been able to fully pay the invoices and the arrears have been accumulating over the months.
In recent months, improvements have been seen in the payment pattern but payments still do not cover the mounting dues. The situation has been further complicated by disputes between the two sides. This caused the Adani Group to call for immediate action from the Bangladesh government. It has also urged the Bangladesh government to facilitate a meeting in Dhaka to resolve the outstanding issues related to power supplied by the Godda power plant. With Ramadan and the Boro rice season approaching in March, Bangladesh is expected to experience higher power demands. However, it has become inevitable for the government to clear the due so that the power supply from the Godda power plant can continue seamlessly.
An Overview Of The Adani Godda Power Plant:
The Adani Godda Power Plant was the most striking project taken up by the Adani Group in the power sector. Adani Power Jharkhand Limited which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Power and a part of the diversified Adani Group achieved the commercial operations date of the second unit of the ultra-supercritical thermal power plant on 26th June 2023. The reliability run tests for the second unit of the power plant were completed on 25th June in the presence of the Power Grid Corporation of Bangladesh and BPDB. On 6th April 2023, the first unit of the plant having a capacity of 800 MW also achieved competition.
Since then, the Adani Group has been continuing to supply power to Bangladesh as per the power purchase agreement which was signed between the governing bodies. The electricity supplied from the Adani power plant had a positive impact on Bangladesh’s power situation. The country no longer had to face severe power scarcity. All its industrial and residential demands were met. The average cost of power purchased also reduced drastically. The Adani Group also took various environmentally friendly measures to ensure that the power supply can continue without impacting the environment in any possible way.
Conclusion:
Even amidst the various controversies and allegations, the Adani Group has continued to supply power from its transnational power project to Bangladesh. However, because of the increasing dues, the global conglomerate has to reconsider its decision to continue with the power supply. Once the situation normalises, the group will be able to continue the power supply in Bangladesh and bring about growth and development in the country.