New Delhi: The Union government has amended guidelines on power exports to allow Adani Power to sell its Bangladesh-bound output in the domestic market in light of the upheaval in the country, Reuters reported.
The move is being viewed by some as a protective measure for the politically connected conglomerate against political disruptions in Bangladesh.
The Narendra Modi government in 2018 had framed guidelines on generators that supply power exclusively to a neighbouring country.
Currently, only the 1600-megawatt power plant operated by Adani Power in Jharkhand’s Godda district supplies all its electricity to a neighbouring country – Bangladesh.
An internal memo passed by the Union power ministry on Wednesday (August 12) amended the 2018 guidelines to state that the government “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,” according to Reuters.
The amendment also allows for the sale of power to the Indian grid if payments are delayed, the report said.
Adani Power’s exports to Bangladesh have been surrounded by controversy with experts saying that Dhaka is buying power at an exorbitant price. Political parties in Bangladesh have called it an “extremely uneven deal signed with an ulterior motive”.
In 2023, the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPD) had written to Adani Power asking for the agreement, signed in 2017, to be revised.
“In our view, the coal price they have quoted (USD400/MT) is excessive – it should be less than USD 250/MT, which is what we are paying for the imported coal at our other thermal power plants,” a BPD official had said.
The memorandum of understanding, preceding the 2017 agreement, between the Adani Group and Dhaka was signed in August 2015, shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bangladesh.
Opposition parties in India have questioned whether Modi was directly involved in the deal between the Adani Group and the Bangladesh government.
