All generation units at the Akosombo Dam have been restored, bringing the power station to normalcy to operate at full capacity to supply sufficient power to the national grid, the Energy Minister, John Jinapor, has announced.

The Minister, in a Facebook post today, Friday, May 1, stated “Mission accomplished. All generation units are now back in service” while commending all team members who worked overtime to ensure restoration of power following the power outages nationwide.

He said, “ In the face of a major system disruption, and against all odds, our engineers, technicians, and emergency teams worked around the clock to restore power and stabilise the grid. Through their tireless work, discipline, and commitment to the country, power has been restored and system stability secured. May God bless our engineers, our energy sector, and our nation”

Mr Jinapor went on to thank the “...leadership and staff of GRIDCo, VRA, ECG, and all supporting agencies whose coordination made this possible. This moment shows that even under pressure, Ghana can rely on the strength and skill of its people”.

Why the power outages in the past few days

The outages began after a fire outbreak at the Akosombo GRIDCO substation on April 23, around 2 pm, which blocked about 1,000 megawatts of power.

Speaking on the situation on the Channel One Newsroom on Sunday, April 26, ECG’s General Manager for External Relations, Dr Charles Nii Ayiku Ayiku, apologised 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.

Dr Ayiku cautioned against calls for a load-shedding timetable at this stage, describing it as 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 added that ECG, GRIDCO and the Volta River Authority (VRA) are working together to restore full power supply across the country.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, directed the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) to step aside pending an investigation into a fire at the Akosombo Power Control Centre while taking steps to avert disruptions in Ghana’s power supply following a major fire incident at the Akosombo transmission network.

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

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

However, these countries were 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”.