Operational date for Adani's Godda thermal power plant to be delayed again

Adani Group's thermal power station in Jharkhand's Godda district is likely to face yet another delay to its commercial operations date (COD), the MoneyControl reported.

The 1,600 megawatt (MW) thermal power station has been facing delays due to Bangladesh’s concerns over the pricing of the coal to be used in the plant. Bangladesh which is scheduled to procure power from the Godda project is of the view that excessive pricing of coal will lead to costlier electricity supplied by it.

Quoting a senior official from the state-run REC (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation) and Power Finance Corporation (PFC), the MoneyControl report said an extension of the COD is the only possible alternative given the current stalemate between Adani Power and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) over the cost of electricity supplied by the plant.

According to a Brickwork Ratings report from 2020, the total cost of Adani’s Godda coal-fired power project is nearly Rs 14,817 crore and the project hasbeen funded in a debt-to-equity ratio of 68:32. 

The debt of Rs 10,075.42 crore has been raised from REC (50 per cent) and PFC (50 per cent).

The project is likely to be extended by another six months, however, the exact period is yet to be decided by a separate committee. And both REC and PFC are expecting a mutually acceptable agreement between Adani Power and BPDB, the report said. 

This delay to the COD of the project will be the third time that the deal has been delayed. The first unit of the plant was supposed to be operational in January 2022. The date was then moved to December 16, which too was missed. 

The latest one to be missed was on January 3, 2023.

The Adani Power Managing Director Anil Sardana had said he wanted to start supplying power from March 26, which is also the Independence Day of Bangladesh. 

The BPDB signed a 25-year PPA with Adani Power to supply 1,496 MW of electricity from the Godda plant in November 2017. The Jharkhand-based power plant has two units of 800 MW each.