Blackout in cities including Dhaka due to non-payment of electricity to Adani in Bangladesh – ..

Relations between New Delhi and Dhaka have been tense since the ouster of former PM Sheikh Hasina from power in neighboring Bangladesh. After the removal of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from power, atrocities against Hindus have increased in Bangladesh. Now this Adani Group of Bangladesh has taught such a lesson that it does not even know how to cry. Most of the cities of Bangladesh have been plunged into darkness due to a move by Adani Group. The matter of electricity payment is complicated. Bangladesh has not yet paid the huge electricity bill to Adani Group. After this this action has been taken.

According to reports, Adani Power Jharkhand Limited (APJL), a wholly owned subsidiary of power company Adani Power, has halved its power supply to Bangladesh due to the outstanding bill of $846 million. Due to this, power supply has been disrupted in many cities of Bangladesh. Adani Group power plants cut supply on Thursday night, data from Power Grid Bangladesh PLC showed.

Shortage of more than 1600 MW

According to reports, Bangladesh experienced a power shortage of more than 1,600 MW between Thursday and Friday night. This is because the plant, with a capacity of about 1,496 MW, is now generating only 700 MW of power from one unit. Earlier, Adani had written to the Energy Secretary of Bangladesh requesting that Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) be asked to pay the dues by October 30. The Adani Group company said in a letter dated October 27 that if the outstanding bills were not paid, it would be forced to take remedial action under the power purchase agreement (PPA) by suspending power supply on October 31.

Know what matters

According to the information, PDB neither got a loan of $170 million from Bangladesh Agricultural Bank nor paid the outstanding amount of $846 million. A PDB official said some part of the dues had already been paid, but since July, APJL has been charging more than in previous months. He said PDB is paying around $18 million per week, while the fees are more than $22 million. This is the reason why the arrears have increased again.

Regarding additional payment, the official said that when PDB raised questions regarding coal prices in February last year, a supplementary agreement was signed. The Adani Group company was forced to keep prices lower than those charged by other coal-fired power plants. The report said that Adani Power has again started charging as per the PPA after the one-year supplementary deal period ended.