The Adani Godda power project is a 1,496 MW (two units of 800 MW gross, 748 MW net each) supercritical coal-fired thermal power station located at Motia village, Godda district, in the Santhal Pargana division of Jharkhand, India. It is owned and operated by Adani Power (Jharkhand) Limited, a subsidiary of the Adani Group. The plant is unique because it was conceived solely as a dedicated cross-border export facility: under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) signed on 5 November 2017 between Adani Power and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), the entire output is exported to Bangladesh for 25 years via a dedicated 400 kV transmission line running roughly 100 km to Bangladesh's national grid, with a domestic interconnection at the India–Bangladesh border near Farakka/Chapainawabganj. The first unit was synchronised and began commercial supply to Bangladesh on 9 April 2023, with the second following later in 2023, raising the plant to full capacity.
The PPA is structured on a tariff comprising a fixed capacity charge and a variable energy (fuel) charge, with coal sourced internationally — historically from Adani's own Carmichael mine in Australia and other imports — making the fuel-cost component sensitive to global coal prices and the taka–dollar exchange rate. To facilitate the arrangement, the Indian government granted the project Special Economic Zone-like benefits and, controversially, amended its 2018 power-export guidelines in 2023 to allow plants approved as dedicated exporters to sell surplus into the Indian domestic market. Critics in Bangladesh, including the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and energy analysts, have alleged the tariff terms and inflated coal-pricing left Bangladesh paying significantly more than for comparable domestic plants, drawing accusations of an unequal "capacity charge" burden similar to other rental and quick-rental contracts.
The project became acutely politically charged following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024 and the formation of the interim administration under Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus. By late 2024 and into 2025, Bangladesh had accumulated large payment arrears (reported in hundreds of millions of US dollars), prompting Adani to curtail supply from both units before resuming after partial payments; the interim government simultaneously ordered a review of the agreement and other Hasina-era energy deals for possible renegotiation amid corruption inquiries. The episode crystallised broader debates over energy sovereignty, opaque sovereign-guaranteed contracts, and Bangladesh's import dependence on Indian power.
For the BCS and "Bangladesh in the World" paper, Adani Godda is a flagship case study in India–Bangladesh energy and connectivity diplomacy, sub-regional power-grid integration under BBIN and BIMSTEC frameworks, and the political economy of cross-border infrastructure. Examiners typically test the year of commissioning (2023), the contracting parties (Adani Power and BPDB, 2017 PPA), the capacity figure, and the post-2024 arrears and renegotiation controversy. Candidates should connect it to themes of asymmetric bilateral dependence, sovereign guarantees, and the interim government's review of legacy contracts. Comparative angles link it to the Rampal and Payra coal plants and the Bheramara India–Bangladesh interconnection.
Example
In April 2023, the Adani Godda plant in Jharkhand began commercial electricity exports to the Bangladesh Power Development Board under a 25-year 2017 agreement, supplying roughly 1,496 MW to Bangladesh's grid.
Frequently asked questions
Commercial supply began on 9 April 2023 from the first unit, with full capacity reached later in 2023. It operates under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement signed on 5 November 2017 between Adani Power and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).