Adani dues to be cleared fast

The government will accelerate the payment of the dues of Adani Power after the Indian power giant threatened to cut off electricity supply if its outstanding amount is not cleared by November 7.
“We are trying our best to accelerate the payment as our reserve is swelling… Now we are able to make international payment without digging into the main reserves,” said Shafiqul Alam, the chief adviser’s press secretary, at a briefing yesterday.
The government is expediting the payment to Adani.
“We are hopeful we will be able to repay about $700 million to Adani as soon as possible,” he said, adding that the backlog of dues to Adani was created by the previous government as it did not pay the bills on time.
He, however, said the power ministry has not received any correspondence from the Indian power company about suspending electricity supply over payment issues.
“If it is true then, we are dismayed and shocked. We will not be hostage to any individual power producer, no matter how powerful they are,” he added.
UNB reported that Adani Power has cut back on power supply due to outstanding dues and has set a deadline for the Bangladesh government to clarify the situation regarding the dues, which total nearly $850 million.
Earlier, Adani Power had set an October 31 deadline for the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) to settle the outstanding amount and provide a letter of credit (LC) of $170 million to ensure secure payment.
Although the BPDB attempted to issue an LC for the overdue amount through Bangladesh Krishi Bank, the effort did not align with the terms of the power purchase agreement, as reported by Times of India. A shortage of dollars was mentioned as one of the reasons.
From October 31, the Adani power plant in Godda, Jharkhand reduced its supply from October 31, worsening the existing power shortages in Bangladesh.
As per the latest update on the Power Grid Bangladesh (PGB) website, on November 1, the Adani plant supplied 724 megawatts against an installed capacity of 1,496 MW.
The Adani plant is the largest supplier of electricity, followed by the Payra (1,244 MW), Rampal (1,234 MW), and SS Power I (1,224 MW) plants.
Adani has not publicly commented on the situation, but senior executives have expressed hope for a resolution, according to the media report.
The decision to snap supply will also impact the Godda plant’s viability as Bangladesh is the sole power purchaser and Adani Power Jharkhand has had to leave one of the two 800 MW units idle.
Preferring anonymity, a top official of BPDB told UNB that Adani Power requested Bangladesh to pay dues through a letter a few days back.
“Adani has not demanded full payment of $800-$850 million in seven days. We are cooperating fully and collaborating with BPDB to resolve any issue,” the Indian company told The Daily Star through its PR firm in Dhaka.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), however, said the government of India has no role in this contract.
“This issue is between two parties. There is a contractual obligation between them: one is a private organisation and the other is the government of Bangladesh. The government of India has no role in this contract,” MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters while responding to a question during a weekly briefing on Saturday.