In fiscal year 2023–24, Bangladesh bought $1 billion worth of power from Adani Power, accounting for 9.3% of the nation’s $11 billion in imports from India that same year, according to a media source.
That indicates that although Bangladesh’s power imports from India were approximately $498 million just two years ago, they have essentially doubled in recent years.
The Indian Express stated that between April 2023 and March 2024, Bangladesh imported a minimum of 7,508 million megawatts from Adani’s Godda Thermal Power Station, citing data from the Eastern Regional Power Committee, located in Kolkata.
This accounted for 63% of the power plant’s 11,934 million megawatts of total exports that year.
The second-highest cost of imports from India was diesel. Fuel purchases by Bangladesh totaled $829.59 million, or 7.5 percent of total imports.
With $595.81 million in imports, or 5.38 percent of the total, cotton came in third position.
In the fiscal year 2022–2023 Bangladesh imported $1.075 billion worth of power from India, which accounted for 8.8% of the country’s total imports of $12.21 billion that year.
That year, the value of diesel imports was $423.03 million, or 3.46 percent, while the value of cotton imports was $495.97 million, or 4%.
Prior to that fiscal year, Bangladesh imported $1.58 billion worth of cotton, which was the most exported good overall.
At the time, power ranked sixth with $498.25 million, or just 3 percent of the total, while wheat came in second with imports worth $1.18 billion, or 7.36 percent of the total.
The 1,600 megawatt Godda project, which is currently committed to export all of its output to Bangladesh, was de-risked after New Delhi changed its power export regulations following the exodus of former prime minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina to India due to escalating unrest.
Less than a week after Hasina’s trip to New Delhi, the Ministry of Power amended a 2018 regulation pertaining to the “import/export (cross border) of electricity” through a memorandum on August 12.
It provides that the “Government of India may permit connection of such generating station to the Indian grid to facilitate sale of power within India in case of sustained non-scheduling of full or part capacity” .
This condition essentially makes it possible for the plant to sell its electricity locally in the event that Bangladeshi payments are delayed.
Adani Power, however, stated last Thursday that it was dedicated to providing power to Bangladesh and that its current contract is unaffected by the recent change to the regulations governing power exports.
Bangladesh receives power from two other Indian power merchants, NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd and PTC India Ltd, as well as a division of Sembcorp Energy India Ltd, in addition to Adani.
