India’s Adani Power resumed electricity generation from one of its two power units on Saturday evening, ending an 18-hour suspension that had raised concerns over potential power outages in Bangladesh amid intense summer heat.
According to sources at the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), Unit-1 of the Adani Power Jharkhand Ltd (APJL) plant, which had been offline since midnight citing a technical issue, was synchronized with Bangladesh’s power distribution network at around 6:15 p.m. By 7:00 p.m., the unit had ramped up a generation to 45.79 megawatts, with expectations of a full 748MW output soon.
Officials said the remaining 748MW Unit-2 is expected to resume operations within the next few days. The plant’s total capacity is 1,496MW.
The disruption followed a boiler-tube leak that had shut down one unit on April 8. APJL had been supplying electricity since early March to support Bangladesh’s power demand during Ramadan, reportedly exceeding its contractual capacity and helping ensure an uninterrupted power supply during the fasting month.
Despite the operational resumption, financial tensions between the BPDB and Adani persist. The Indian conglomerate has long been urging Bangladesh to clear outstanding payments, which currently total around US$800 million.
A recent proposal from Adani offers Bangladesh until June 2025 to clear dues and avoid steep late-payment surcharges, which under the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) accrue at 2% monthly—equivalent to nearly 27% annually.
While the BPDB has yet to respond, the backlog and contractual terms have sparked debate, with critics questioning the PPA’s cost structure, signed in 2017 under the previous government.
