Nat’l grid gets power from Adani on trial basis

Electricity supply from the controversial Adani power plant in Godda, Jharkhand began on a trial basis yesterday.

"We are getting 50 megawatts of electricity since 7:38 pm," ABM Badruddoza Khan, spokesman for Power Grid Company of Bangladesh, told The Daily Star.

The electricity was generated at a 1,600-megawatt ultra-supercritical power plant located on 425 hectares of land in an Indian village about 100 kilometres from the Bangladesh border and delivered through a dedicated transmission line.

Now the power plant will supply electricity to the national grid until commercial operation starts, Khan said, adding that the supply will gradually increase as per demand.

The plant was supposed to start commercial operation by December 16 last year but was later shifted to March 26 this year.

As per the power purchase agreement signed on November 5, 2017, with Adani Power, the Bangladesh Power Development Board will purchase at least 34 percent of the power generated by the plant over a 25-year period.

Three legal and energy experts at home and abroad who reviewed the contract at The Daily Star's request found it to be exceptionally expensive, overtly favouring Adani Power and ironclad.

Subsequently, several rights organisations, political parties and environmentalists demanded the cancellation of the deal.