Adani Power may have to find ways to ensure that its dedicated power project for Bangladesh stays feasible as the payment dues from the neighbouring country is huge.

Though Indian government has tweaked the power export norms recently allowing players to re-route the supply, it is not possible from the Adani project as it is a dedicated transmission network to Bangladesh and approvals were taken accordingly. To re-route fresh infrastructure will need to be put in place and transmission network can be laid only when the government calls for it, an industry tracker said.

Furthermore, if it stops supply or re-routes, it must be mindful of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) it has signed with the buyer, sources in the know said.

Analysts from Bangladesh said that the authorities there are well versed with the situation and that the interim government was looking at ways to resolve the situation. According to power sector analyst workings, Adani would make more money selling in India rather than Bangladesh, given steady demand and healthy rates on the power exchange.

Currently, the company continues uninterrupted supply of electricity to Bangladesh despite receivables amounting to approximately $800 million from Bangladesh. Average monthly billing of the plant is $90-100 million and currently Bangladesh is several months behind payment, another source said.

Rising receivables

In fact, Indian power producers selling electricity to Bangladesh are treading cautiously when it comes to payment issues from the neighbouring country. Besides Adani Power, SEIL Energy India (250MW) and NTPC (710 MW from three units) also supply power to Bangladesh. SEIL has receivables overdue of about $150 million from Bangladesh.

Adani Power Spokesperson said: “We continue to supply reliable and competitively priced power from our Godda facility to Bangladesh, despite mounting dues. We are in constant dialogue with the Bangladesh government and have apprised them of this unsustainable situation, where we are meeting not only our supply commitments but also those to our lenders and suppliers, despite rising receivables.”

Adani supplies power to Bangladesh from its 1600 MW Ultra Super Critical imported coal-based power plant in Godda, Jharkhand, through a dedicated transmission corridor, which is not connected to the Indian grid. The plant, including the associated transmission infrastructure, was set up at an investment of $2 billion and was fully commissioned in July 2023. The Adani plant meets ~7-10 per cent of Bangladesh’s baseload power demand.

At the time of commissioning, the company had said that the electricity supplied from the plant shall have a positive impact on Bangladesh’s power situation by replacing costly power generated from liquid fuel and help Bangladesh reduce the average cost of power purchased.

Currently, Bangladesh has long term PPA ties with four other imported coal-based power generators, which are Payra, Rampal, Matarbari and Barisal Electric Power. Of these Adani’s cost is lowest, an anaylst said.

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