Bangladesh Seeks Cancellation of All Electricity Agreements With Adani
A formal legal notice has been dispatched to the relevant authorities, demanding the annulment of all electricity contracts with India’s Adani Group.
On Wednesday, Barrister M Kaiyum urged for an “immediate reassessment or total annulment of the inequitable, unilateral agreements.”
The notice stipulates that if a reassessment of the agreements is not commenced within three days, a writ petition will be submitted to the High Court.
Additionally, it requests the establishment of a review committee consisting of energy and legal specialists to produce a comprehensive report.
The chairman of the Bangladesh Power Development Board and the secretary of the energy ministry have been allotted three days to address the notice.
Following the directives of the Power Division, a swift power purchase agreement was executed with Adani in 2017, at a time when no coal-based power plants were operational in Bangladesh.
One of these agreements is a 25-year power purchase contract established with Adani in 2017.
Notably, Bangladesh’s electricity supply is managed by a national grid with an installed capacity of 25,700 MW as of 2022, primarily sourced from natural gas.
The Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) plays a key role in generation and distribution, alongside independent power producers and rural cooperatives.
Despite achieving 100% access to electricity, challenges persist, including high system losses, erratic supply, and reliance on fossil fuels.
The government aims to diversify energy sources, increase renewable energy contributions, and enhance infrastructure to meet projected demand of 50,000 MW by 2041.
