Adani to keep supplying power as BPDB clears $30m dues

Amid an ongoing payment dispute, the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has paid $30 million to Adani Power, potentially putting an end to the looming power supply cut threatened by the Indian power giant over outstanding electricity import bills.

Sources at the Power Division said BPDB opened a letter of credit (LC) worth $30 million through Bangladesh Krishi Bank yesterday to remit the payment. With the clearing of $30 million out of Adani's claimed $496 million, BPDB has averted a power supply cut from the 1,600MW Godda Power Plant.

At least three BPDB officials told The Business Standard that there would be no supply disruption from Adani Power from today as BPDB had already made a partial payment. "We have also communicated with Adani officials about disbursing the undisputed amount in phases," said a source involved in the matter.

Power Grid Bangladesh (PGB), which receives and distributes Adani's electricity, said there was no contingency plan to manage grid reliability in case of any cut.

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Talking with The Business Standard yesterday, BM Mizanul Hassan, chief engineer (system operation) of PGB said, "We have no knowledge of any supply suspension from Adani tomorrow [Tuesday]. If there is any such issue, we will be informed in advance."

PGB's real-time power import data shows that at 6pm yesterday, Adani supplied 1,112MW of electricity to Bangladesh.

Earlier, Avinash Anurag, head of energy regulatory and commercial at Adani Power, in a letter written in late October to BPDB Chairman Md Rezaul Karim, threatened to suspend electricity supply to Bangladesh from 11 November if BPDB failed to clear its "long-held" dues by 10 November.

In the letter, Adani Power said BPDB had failed to settle "long-held $496 million" in outstanding bills despite repeated reminders and communications. Of this, BPDB's own acknowledged dues of $262 million also remain unpaid, the letter further noted. 

However, BPDB officials told TBS that their outstanding bill is around $256 million.

Citing continuous non-payment, Adani in the letter invoked sections 13.2(i)(i) and (ii) of the 2017 Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), which, according to the company, allows it to suspend power supply in case of default by the buyer (BPDB).

The company also stated that even if supply is halted, it remains entitled to capacity payments based on the plant's "dependable capacity".

Adani threatens to cut power from 11 Nov if dues not cleared: Adviser Fouzul

According to the agreement, BPDB has to pay between $25 million and $28 million in capacity charges – fixed costs such as loan servicing, staff salaries, and depreciation each month even if no power were supplied.

This is not the first instance of strain in the Adani-BPDB relationship.

Earlier, in November 2024, Adani Power reduced electricity supply to Bangladesh by about 60%, citing overdue bills amounting to $800 million – figure BPDB disputed, claiming it was calculated using Adani's own mechanism.

According to BPDB's FY24 Annual Report, Adani Power supplied an average of 932.31MW of electricity per month from its 1,600MW Godda Power Plant in India's Jharkhand state, which was exclusively built for exporting power to Bangladesh.

Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime in August last year, the Indian government amended the 2018 guidelines governing generators supplying electricity exclusively to neighbouring countries, allowing Adani Power to sell electricity in the local Indian market as well.