Bangladesh government is re-evaluating its 25-year power purchase agreement with Adani Power – they have not received any news. Adani Power reported this information to Reuters on Monday. A day earlier, that is, on Sunday, Reuters reported that Bangladesh wants to re-evaluate the agreement.
Adani Power said it has received no indication that the Bangladesh government is re-evaluating its power purchase agreement (PPA) with the company. Reuters reported on Sunday that Bangladesh wants to significantly reduce the price of power purchase under the agreement with the Adani Group. Otherwise, the court can void the contract, as the court has already ordered a probe into the 25-year contract.
Last week, the Bangladesh High Court ordered an expert committee to review the deal. Under the deal, Adani supplies power from a $2 billion coal-fired power plant located in eastern India. The company exports 1600 MW of electricity to Bangladesh. Which is a total of 10 percent of Bangladesh's demand.
This came to light at a time when Adani Group founder Gautam Adani was accused of bribery in the US. He was allegedly involved in a $265 million bribery scam in India. But he denied this allegation. At the same time an Indian state is reviewing its power deal with the Adani Group and France's TotalEnergies has suspended its investment in Adani's project.
Earlier, in 2017, Adani Power signed this agreement with a state-owned company during the tenure of the then Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina. However, this year Sheikh Hasina's government was ousted due to widespread public protests and allegations of widespread corruption.
Adani Power is trying to recover more than $800 million owed to Bangladesh and had supplied Bangladesh with only 700-750 MW of power due to arrears in early August.
A spokesperson of Adani Power said, 'If the dues are not paid immediately, it will not be possible to sustain the operation of the power plant.' He further said, 'We are in regular contact with the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and top officials of the Bangladesh government. They have assured us that our dues will be paid soon.'
