Adani to restore full power supply to BD soon

Staff Reporter :

India’s Adani Power has agreed to fully restore the supply from its 1,600 MW power plant in India to Bangladesh within a few days after a three-month pause.

However, the company has declined Dhaka’s request for discounts and tax concessions, sources said.

The company had reduced power supply to Bangladesh by half on October 31 due to delayed payments, as the country faced a foreign exchange crisis.

This led to the shutdown of one of the two equal-sized units of the plant on November 1, following Bangladesh’s request to maintain only partial supply due to lower winter demand and ongoing payment concerns.

With summer approaching and at the request of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), Adani Power has agreed to resume full supplies by next week, the sources said. The plant, located in eastern India, is dedicated solely to supplying power to Bangladesh.

However, Adani Power has refused to meet several other BPDB demands, including providing discounts and tax benefits that could amount to millions of dollars, the sources added. During a virtual meeting on Tuesday, the two sides discussed these issues, with more meetings expected.

“They are unwilling to make any concessions, even as little as $1 million,” one source said. “We haven’t received any discounts. While we seek a mutual understanding, they are strictly adhering to the power purchase agreement.”

BPDB Chairperson Md. Rezaul Karim did not respond to questions regarding the dispute. Earlier this week, he told Reuters “There is no major issue with Adani now.” He said, full power supply would soon resume, while efforts were being made to increase payments beyond $85 million per month.

An Adani Power spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Following a Reuters report on Tuesday, the company said that “power dispatch by a generator depends on the procurers’ requirements, which are subject to change.”

In December, an Adani source claimed BPDB owed the company around $900 million, while Karim had estimated the outstanding amount to be approximately $650 million. The disagreement centers around how power tariffs are calculated.

BPDB had previously written to Adani Power requesting tax concessions worth millions of dollars and the reinstatement of a discount program that was in effect for a year until May.