Adani Power gets govt nod to connect Bangladesh-linked Godda plant with domestic grid: Report

The Union government has allowed Adani Power Ltd (APL) to connect its 1,600-megawatt Godda coal-fired power plant in Jharkhand to the national electricity grid, paving the way for the company to sell power domestically in addition to its current exports to Bangladesh, The Indian Express reported on Friday.

The Ministry of Power issued an order on September 29 granting Adani Power the same powers a telegraph authority possesses under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, to install overhead transmission lines through 56 villages in Godda district, according to the report.

The approval allows Adani Power to link its Godda Ultra Super Critical Thermal Power Plant to India’s interstate transmission system through a Line-In Line-Out (LILO) connection of the 400 kV Kahalgaon A–Maithon B line.

The move follows a series of regulatory amendments enabling cross-border electricity flows and grid connectivity for the Godda project, including changes to rules by the Central Electricity Authority and the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Adani Power’s Godda plant, designated as a Special Economic Zone in 2019, was built primarily to supply electricity to Bangladesh.

However, following a change of government in Dhaka in August 2024, the Indian government permitted the plant to connect temporarily to the domestic grid.

Citing correspondence reviewed by the paper, the report said Adani Power had written to Power Ministry on August 6, 2024, a day after former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted, requesting permission to supply power to India when Bangladesh’s demand was low or interrupted for “geo-political” reasons.

The approval is valid for 25 years and requires Adani Power to obtain clearances from local authorities, railways and highways departments before construction, as well as environmental and wildlife approvals, the report added.

Shares of Adani Power were trading over ₹160 apiece on the stock exchange, up 1.73%, in the early trading.