Five Indian power companies supplying electricity to Bangladesh are owed more than $1bn, The Economic Times reported, citing sources. Of this amount, around $800mn is owed to Adani Power, which supplies electricity from its 1.6-GW coal-fired plant in Godda, Jharkhand, via a dedicated transmission corridor.

SEIL Energy India is owed approximately $150mn as of June 30, 2024, under its power purchase agreement for 250 MW with Bangladesh. Additionally, Bangladesh owes about $80mn to the Indian state-owned power company NTPC for supplying around 740 MW of electricity from three of its plants.

PTC India, which supplies 250 MW of power from the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company to the Bangladesh Power Development Board, is also owed $79mn, though it managed to recover $46mn by August 25, as reported by The Economic Times. Power Grid Corporation of India is owed $20mn.

Despite the outstanding payments, the companies have continued to supply power to Bangladesh. However, this arrangement may not last long as the companies need to maintain financial stability.

Bangladesh is currently facing economic challenges exacerbated by ongoing political turmoil, which recently led to the ousting of the previous administration amid violent protests. In response, the Bangladesh government has approached Japan for a budget support loan to stabilise its macroeconomy and is in talks with other international agencies for financial assistance.

Adani Power, along with other Indian power providers such as NTPC and PTC India, is engaged in discussions with Bangladesh’s interim government to resolve the payment issue, according to the newspaper.

Recently, the Indian government allowed Adani Power’s Godda plant to also serve the domestic market following an amendment to the country’s power export rules. An internal memo from the Indian power ministry, dated August 12 and seen by Reuters, updates the 2018 guidelines governing generators that supply electricity "exclusively to a neighbouring country."

The memo states that the Indian government may permit such generating stations to connect to the Indian grid to facilitate the sale of power within India if there is sustained non-scheduling of full or partial capacity. Additionally, the sale of power to the local grid may be permitted if there are delays in payments.

The Godda project represents the Adani Group’s first transnational power venture and is India’s inaugural transnational power project where 100% of the generated electricity is supplied to another nation.