Adani power agreement under review, minister tells JS

Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku said on Thursday that the power- purchase agreement signed in 2017 with Adani Power Limited was currently under review.
He disclosed it during the question-and-answer session of the Jatiya Sangsad, in response to a written question from Member of Parliament Shahjahan Chowdhury. The parliamentary session was presided over by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.
In his reply, Tuku said that during the interim government period, the agreement had already been reviewed by a national committee led by a retired judge of the Supreme Court. "The committee included power and energy experts, legal experts, economists, and chartered accountants. After examining the deal, they found that the previous Awami League government had signed the agreement at abnormally high prices compared to both domestic and international market standards".
He further stated that the government was considering two options to amend the agreement: resolving the issue through international arbitration, or renegotiating the terms directly with Adani Power.
Responding to another written question from MP Reza Ahmed, the minister said the country's current power generation capacity stood at 32,332 megawatts. Based on demand, on average, 14,500 to 15,000 megawatts of electricity are being generated daily.
He added that the total installed capacity -- including captive power, imports, renewable energy, and net metering -- is 32,332 MW, of which grid-based generation capacity is 28,919 MW. In response to a written question from Feni-2 MP Zainal Abedin Faruk regarding modernisation of power distribution, the minister said there were currently 1,834 substations across the country under various distribution entities. These include 187 under the Bangladesh Power Development Board, 136 under the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board, 60 under DESCO, 99 under DPDC, 97 under WZPDCL, and 85 under NESCO.

mirmostafiz@yahoo.com