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The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has settled $336 million in outstanding dues owed to India’s Adani Power Limited. The dues accumulated for electricity supplied from the Godda power plant in Jharkhand to Bangladesh until March 2025. On Tuesday (June 24), the Power Division confirmed that the payment was made through a combination of recovered electricity bills and subsidies from the Finance Ministry.
Power Division Secretary Farzana Mumtaz stated that clearing Adani’s dues ensures no risk to the continued operation of the Godda power plant. However, she noted that disagreements persist regarding the pricing of coal. Adani Power Limited confirmed that, as the payment was made within the stipulated deadline of June 30, they waived a surcharge of approximately $20 million.
Earlier, on June 17, Adani Power sent a letter to Bangladesh’s Economic Adviser, Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, urging prompt payment of the dues. In the letter, Anil Sardana, Managing Director of Adani Energy Solutions Limited (AESL) and Adani Power Limited (APL), warned that failure to clear the dues could disrupt production at the Godda power plant, potentially causing a significant power supply crisis in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s economy is currently under intense pressure due to foreign debt repayments. In the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, the government paid a record $3.78 billion in principal and interest to development partners, the highest in the country’s history. With the terms of several mega power projects expiring, large-scale repayments are now due, impacting the revenue sector and the coordination of power generation and import costs.
Energy fac Energy experts suggest that while clearing Adani’s dues provides temporary relief, long-term contracts and reliance on costly imports could place the country under greater economic strain in the future, especially with rising global coal prices and the ongoing dollar shortage. The interim government’s limited capacity to renegotiate international power-related agreements further complicates the situation. Thus, while the payment has brought temporary stability, a fundamental solution remains uncertain.
AI/MR
