Md. Nasrullah, PenInfo: Adani Power has cut its electricity supply to Bangladesh by 50%, shutting one of its Jharkhand units due to $846 million in unpaid bills and an unissued $170 million letter of credit from Bangladesh’s Power Development Board (BPDB).
Previously supplying 1,016 MW, Adani now warns that the remaining 750 MW unit could also shut down by November 7 if payments aren’t cleared. This is the first supply suspension by Adani due to payment disputes under its power purchase agreement with BPDB. according to a local media report on Friday.
Data from Power Grid Bangladesh PLC showed the Adani plant reduced supply on Thursday night. Power Grid Bangladesh PLC data show the plant is producing around 700MW from a single unit now.
Earlier, Adani Power Jharkhand Limited (APJL) had written to the power secretary, asking the Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) to pay the bills by October 30. “Otherwise APJL shall be constrained to take remedial action under the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) by suspending power supply on October 31,” Adani wrote in the letter, a senior official of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) told the peninfo.org later in the day.
He said the PDB has been paying around $18 million weekly, while the charge is more than $22 million. “This is why the due payments increased again.”
The official added that the PDB had recently deposited payment to the Bangladesh Krishi Bank, but due to a dollar shortage, the bank could not open the required LC.
About the additional payment, he said, when the PDB raised a question on the coal pricing in February last year, they signed a supplementary deal. The deal obliged Adani to quote coal prices less than the rates charged by the other coal-fired power plants, such as Payra and Rampal.
After the tenure of the one-year supplementary deal, Adani again started charging as per the PPA. According to the PPA, coal prices are calculated based on the average price of the Indonesian coal index and the Australian Newcastle index, which increases the prices.
The Adani letter said the company once again requested PDB to expedite payments of “material defaults” no later than October 30.
Adani has been pressing the interim government to pay the dues since they took charge. Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group, also wrote to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.
Currently, approximately 12% of Bangladesh’s power demand is met through imports from India, according to industry insiders.
Peninfo/desk/02.11.24/01.15am