A technical issue at an Adani Power thermal plant in Jharkhand, which supplies most of its electricity to Bangladesh, has further aggravated the country’s existing power crisis. Bangladeshi officials had initially warned that restoring the supply could take several days. However, Dhaka-based outlet The Business Standard reported on Sunday that one of the plant’s two units, which had been shut down, was operational again. The severity of Bangladesh’s electricity shortage is such that the government last month effectively imposed a curfew-like measure, directing malls and markets to close by 8 pm to save power.
According to a report by The Daily Star, one of the two units at the 1,600 Megawatt (MW) Godda power plant in Jharkhand, India, was taken offline after developing a boiler problem late Thursday. The shutdown occurred just as the plant had started increasing generation following weeks of lower output caused by disruptions in coal transportation.
The temporary closure of the 800MW unit reduced the Godda plant’s overall generation capacity by half. Data from Power Grid Bangladesh showed that generation at Godda had crossed 1,400MW on Thursday night before the unit tripped. After the shutdown, the plant’s supply dropped below 750MW, The Daily Star reported.
Officials from the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) told The Daily Star that repair work would take at least 48 hours to commence and that restoring the unit could take several additional days.
Bangladeshi outlet New Age quoted BPDB member Mohammad Jahirul Islam as saying that the Board had not been given a clear timeline for repairing the Adani unit.
However, on Sunday, September 13, The Business Standard reported that the unit had been re-synchronised with Bangladesh’s national grid at 12:04 pm, three days after going offline. The unit was expected to take several hours to reach full operating capacity. According to the report, the Godda plant’s total supply had risen to 1,046MW by 2 pm.
Bangladesh relies on India for several essential requirements, including fuel and electricity.
Although Bangladesh, which was once part of pre-independent India, has historically maintained close relations with India, ties have come under strain since the Sheikh Hasina government was ousted following protests in August 2024. Several fuel and electricity agreements between the two countries date back to the Hasina government.
The violent protests during July and August 2024 also involved several anti-India elements. The interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus was similarly viewed as being less favourable towards India. Following the January general election, in which Hasina’s Awami League was barred from contesting, a Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance came to power.
Relations have improved to some extent since then, although tensions between the two countries have not disappeared completely.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Friday turned down an invitation to attend the ongoing BRICS Summit in New Delhi at the last moment. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir said the invitation had been extended to Rahman as the BIMSTEC chair rather than in his capacity as Bangladesh’s Prime Minister.
BANGLADESH'S MOUNTING POWER WOES
The technical problem at the Adani-owned plant comes as Bangladesh grapples with an increasingly severe electricity crisis.
Despite having an installed power generation capacity exceeding 30,000 MW, Bangladesh generated only around 13,000–15,000 MW on Friday, according to Power Grid Bangladesh data. This was significantly below nationwide demand of more than 16,000MW, resulting in a substantial supply gap.
A major factor behind the crisis is a shortage of natural gas. More than 40% of Bangladesh’s installed generation capacity, equivalent to around 12,472MW, comes from gas-fired plants, according to Power Grid Bangladesh.
However, figures cited by The Daily Star indicated that gas-powered plants generated only about 4,700–5,100MW on Friday because of inadequate gas supplies. Some estimates suggest that Bangladesh’s power sector needs more than 1 billion cubic feet of gas every day, while current availability is only around 700 million cubic feet per day.
Meanwhile, coal- and oil-fired thermal plants have also been unable to operate at their full capacity because of a combination of supply problems and technical difficulties.
Electricity imports from Nepal have also remained suspended since August 28, after massive flash floods damaged the Himalayan nation’s hydropower infrastructure, New Age reported. This has placed additional pressure on Bangladesh’s already strained power system.
The reduced generation at the Godda plant has added further difficulties.
Bangladesh imports as much as 2,656 MW of electricity from India. This includes 1,160 MW supplied through government-linked arrangements and another 1,496 MW from Adani Power’s Godda plant.
With Godda’s output temporarily cut by half, Bangladesh’s electricity deficit is expected to widen further. The country was already facing a shortfall of around 2,500MW.
The power shortage has affected daily life across Bangladesh. Last month, the government instructed shopping malls, shops and markets to close by 8 pm as part of efforts to conserve electricity. Areas including Mymensingh, Barishal, Rangpur, Sylhet, Rajshahi and Khulna have faced particularly severe shortages, with many regions experiencing outages lasting between three and as much as 10 hours a day. The electricity crisis has also triggered street protests, as residents demonstrated against prolonged outages and inadequate power supplies.
