The neighbouring country owes this amount to Adani Power for electricity supplied by its coal-fired plant in the Godda district in Jharkhand, the report said citing Bangladesh Bank’s newly-appointed Governor Ahsan H Mansur. “If we don’t pay them, they will stop providing electricity,” he said. Adani Power is in talks with Bangladesh’s interim government to sort out this issue, the report added. Adani Power has said that it will continue to supply power to Bangladesh from its 1,600MW plant in Jharkhand set up to supply 100 percent electricity generated from the facility to the neighbouring nation.

The PPA for the power supply was signed between its arm, Adani Power (Jharkhand), and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). The plant currently sources coal from the Adani Group’s mines in Australia. Earlier this month, the power ministry amended power import/export guidelines to enable electricity supply from plants set up as an export-oriented unit to sell power within India. The amendment provides that the government may permit connection of such generating station to the Indian grid (inter-state or intra-state grid) to facilitate the sale of power within India ‘in case of sustained non-scheduling of full or part capacity or default notice issued by the generator for any default, including delayed payment under the PPA (power purchase agreement)’.

The amendment to allow power plants with export commitment to supply electricity within India was done after the recent political crisis in Bangladesh, which saw the Sheikh Hasina-led government forced to resign and the former PM fleeing to India for safety. Besides Adani Power, other India state-owned firms, including NTPC and PTC India, also supply electricity to Bangladesh. There’s no clarity on whether those companies have some unpaid dues as well. Bangladesh is facing an economic crisis with overall arrears of as much as $2 billion, including dues to airlines that have to be paid immediately, the Bloomberg report added.

Its foreign exchange buffer is also eroding, with gross reserves of $20.5 billion as of July 31 that are enough to cover about three months of imports. The interim government is trying to secure more loans from the International Monetary Fund, beyond a $4.7-billion programme to tide over these economic hardships. Adani Power has said that it will continue to supply power to Bangladesh from its 1,600MW plant in Jharkhand set up to supply 100 percent electricity generated from the facility to the neighbouring nation. Bangladesh is facing an economic crisis with overall arrears of as much as $2 billion, including dues to airlines that have to be paid immediately.

News Link: Adani Power Has $800 Million in Unpaid Dues From Bangladesh