Bangladesh wants to renegotiate Adani Power deal amid legal scrutiny
Bangladesh wants to sharply lower prices under a power purchase deal with India's embattled Adani Group unless it is cancelled by a court, which has called for an investigation into the 25-year deal, its de facto energy minister told media on Sunday.
The Adani Group, led by Gautam Adani, is already under fire following allegations from US authorities linking it to a $265 million bribery scheme in India—charges the group has denied. Meanwhile, the deal's terms are also being reexamined by an Indian state, and French energy giant TotalEnergies has paused its investments in the group.
In Bangladesh, a legal appeal challenging the power deal prompted the High Court to instruct an expert committee to evaluate the agreement. This contract involves supplying electricity from a $2 billion coal-fired plant in Jharkhand, India. The court has set February as the deadline for the committee to present its findings and for a subsequent ruling.
The agreement, signed in 2017 under then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's administration, is now under intense review. Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, an energy adviser for Bangladesh, stated that the government would only pursue cancellation in cases involving severe irregularities such as corruption or bribery. He added that if anomalies in the contract are identified, renegotiation could be a viable path forward.
'Some issues, like Bangladesh not benefiting from Indian tax exemptions related to the power plant, have already been raised with Adani. These could be part of the basis for renegotiating the deal,' Khan said during an interview.
Adani Power Ltd has maintained that its Jharkhand-based plant would provide uninterrupted, reliable, and cost-effective electricity to Bangladesh. In its annual report, the company highlighted that the deal could lower electricity costs for end-users.
However, in the 2022–2023 fiscal year, Adani's electricity was billed at 14.02 taka per unit, the highest rate for Indian-generated power supplied to Bangladesh. This was notably higher than the national average price of 8.77 taka per unit ($0.0737), according to data from the Bangladesh Power Development Board.
While Khan mentioned that the U.S. corruption allegations against Adani might not directly impact the Bangladesh deal, the ongoing investigation and court decision will likely determine the contract's future.
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