The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) says it is too early for Ghanaians to request a power outage (‘dumsor’) timetable to help households, businesses and institutions, among others, to better prepare for the outages.

His comments come after Ghanaians began asking for a schedule since the current wave of power outages in some parts of the country, following the power supply company’s announcement of both planned and emergency cuts across four regions following faults and a fire at GRIDCo’s Akosombo substation.

Netizens took to social media over the weekend to complain about recurring power outages, with many demanding a schedule from ECG.

In response to this, General Manager for External Relations, Dr Charles Nii Ayiku Ayiku, during an interview on Channel One Newsroom on Sunday, April 26, acknowledged the inconvenience accompanying the persistent power outages; however, he indicated that demand for a timetable was premature.

“So if we start talking about a load shedding timetable right now, don’t you think it is too early to call for a load shedding timetable?” he said.

He went on to apologise for the inconvenience caused, describing the incident as unexpected and significant.

“I sincerely apologise for the inconvenience our cherished customers are facing. The incident wasn’t expected. It was a major incident which has rendered the entire control room affected and down, and we sincerely apologise to our customers.

“After Akosombo, the fact is that it blocked about 1000 megawatts, but I am sure you also understand that even after losing 1000 megawatts, we have still been consistent with power supply within some parts of the country,” he said.

He assured that his outfit is making relentless efforts with restoration works currently underway across the transmission network, with full restoration imminent soon, hence he urged the public to remain calm amid the inconveniences being caused by the outages.

“The question is, the current situation at the Akosombo GRIDCO substation is a work in progress. As I speak to you, there is a resolution; there are some of the issues that have been resolved, some parts of the country are back on full supply, pending other lines that will be restored.

“The engineers have assured us that very soon we will get back on supply. I would once again urge the general public and our customers to remain calm and be assured that the situation is under control,” he stated.

GRIDCo CEO suspended pending probe into Akosombo substation fire

On April 24, a fire gutted some parts of the Akosombo substation switchyard, leading to a disruption in the power supply.

Following this,

The Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor, on Sunday, April 26, ordered the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), Ing. Mark Awuah Baah, to step aside while stakeholders probe the incident.

The announcement of the CEO's stepping down was made by the Minister of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, in a Facebook post on the same day, where he also revealed that a major overhaul had occurred in the leadership of the ECG in the Ashanti Region.

Energy Minister takes measures to worsen 'dumsor' crisis

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition has taken steps to avert disruptions in Ghana’s power supply following the fire incident at the Akosombo transmission network.

As part of the measures, Ghana will temporarily halt power supply to neighboring countries. The Deputy Energy Minister, Richard Gyan-Mensah, disclosed this while engaging the press on Friday, April 24.

Ghana primarily exports electricity to Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso through the 225kV Bolgatanga-Ouagadougou interconnection.

However, these countries will be left to temporarily cater for themselves as the fire outbreak damaged a transmission system with a capacity of about 720 megawatts at GRIDCo's substation at Akosombo.

He added, “The system that got affected was about 720 megawatts. That system transmits power to major parts of the country, so this is a significant hit. The Akosombo Dam generates a little over 1,000 megawatts.”

“This is an emergency that has actually occasioned it. It is brief; it is not something that is going to last longer. I think they have also heard what has happened to us. In this situation, we need to take some actions and this is one of them”.

Meanwhile, the cause of the fire is yet to be determined by authorities. Recently, the country has been experiencing temporary power outages, locally known as 'dumsor', but President John Dramani Mahama insists they are part of ongoing system upgrades.

While inspecting new transformers acquired for the Northern Electricity Distribution Company Limited (NEDCo), President Mahama noted that "The outages you are facing are not dumsor, it is to enable you to get better quality and stable power.”