Bangladesh: After part-payment of dues, Adani Power restores full supply
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Ahead of soaring summer temperatures, Bangladesh on Thursday confirmed that Adani Power has restored full electricity supply after part-payment of dues, the media reported.
The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) said that regular payments are being made to Adani, although specifics regarding past arrears were not disclosed, the reports said.
While the outstanding dues amounted to USD 800 million, the BPDB has indicated that these will be cleared within the next six months.
Adani Power’s generation unit in Jharkhand, that supplies electricity to Bangladesh, resumed full electricity supply to the Islamist nation four months after halving the feed due to unpaid dues.
“We’re making regular payments to Adani and receiving power as per our requirements,” Rezaul Karim, Chairman of BODB, said. He didn’t, however, specify the quantum of payments and whether past arrears have been cleared, Bloomberg reported.
Data from BPDB shows Adani increased the power supply more than two weeks ago. The company is caught in a cleft stick, as its contract in Bangladesh is under fire, it has unrecovered dues, and must figure out what to do with excess power.
The firm halved power supply from its 1,600-megawatt coal-fired plant in Jharkhand in November 2024 after Dhaka, which was battling a foreign exchange crisis amid a turbulent change of regime, missed a series of payments.
Restoration of supply will help Bangladesh avoid blackouts in the sweltering summer months when temperatures can reach 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) or more.
The dues, which had at one point crossed USD 850 million, now stands at USD 800 million which would be cleared in next six months, the report said.
The BPDB had also provided guarantees to reassure Adani’s lenders to ease the company’s working capital crunch, they said.
The restoration of power is being viewed as a step to help repair business ties between the two nations.
