Pay dues by June to avoid surcharge: Adani’s warning to PDB

India’s Adani Power has warned the Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) that it will have to pay a surcharge if its $845 million outstanding bill is not paid by June.

The company has been supplying half of its power generation capacity to Bangladesh since November last year. It warned the PDB on Sunday that it will waive the surcharge if PDB can pay the bill on time between January and June.

In a letter from Adani Power (Jharkhand) Limited (APJL), it said, “APJL is offering to waive the surcharge if PDB pays its monthly bills within the stipulated time for the payment of the outstanding amount for the period January to June 2025 and pays the entire outstanding amount by June 30, 2025.”

The letter, signed by APJL Joint Coordination Committee Chairman MR Krishna Rao, said that the decision was taken to overcome the acute financial crisis faced by APJL and to ensure that PDB pays the dues on priority.

The letter states that the decision was taken after discussions with PDB on January 9.

It further states that the meeting discussed in detail the settlement of the $845 million outstanding power bill for the power supplied from April 2024 as per the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

The letter says, “We request PDB to consider the above proposal and pay the dues in the manner mentioned in the letter in the interest of both PDB and APJL.”

In a letter sent to the Financial Advisor and the Advisor on Power, Energy and Mineral Resources in early January, Adani Power had sought a clear roadmap from the interim government for the settlement of the $845 million outstanding bill.

PDB signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with Adani Power in November 2017, which was intended to meet about 10 percent of the country’s total power demand.

Adani Power has been repeatedly requesting the interim government since August to quickly settle the outstanding amount and has sent letters to PDB, the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Bangladesh Bank and the Chief Advisor.

Adani shut down one of its two coal-fired units in November last year amid the exchange of letters regarding the payment. The 1,496-megawatt power plant is now generating about 400-700 megawatts of electricity per unit.