Bangladesh Speeds Up Payment to Adani Power Following Supply Disruption

Bangladesh is working to expedite the payment of over $800 million owed to Adani Power ahead of a November 7 deadline set by the Indian company, according to two senior government officials. Adani Power, which supplies electricity to Dhaka from its 1,600 MW Godda plant in Jharkhand, imposed the deadline due to difficulties in securing coal imports essential for its power generation, as per three sources familiar with the matter.

The power company, owned by billionaire Gautam Adani, has reduced its power exports to Bangladesh from approximately 1,400 MW to 700-800 MW this month, a senior official from the Bangladesh Power Development Board told Reuters.

While Adani Power did not comment on the payment deadline, Bangladesh has been facing financial strain due to high fuel and goods import costs since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Additionally, the political instability following the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August has worsened the situation. Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, the power and energy advisor in Bangladesh’s interim government, informed Reuters that Bangladesh had cleared $96 million last month and recently opened a letter of credit for another $170 million.

Earlier, sources indicated that Bangladesh was re-evaluating its contract with Adani Power, as the company was reportedly charging nearly 27 per cent more than other Indian private power producers. In a recent quarterly earnings conference call, Adani Power's Chief Financial Officer Dilip Kumar Jha stated that there were no issues with power supply to Bangladesh.

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