Dumsor Hits 3 More Regions …No Power Generation from Akosombo

Ghana is currently not receiving any electricity from the Akosombo Dam following a fire outbreak at the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) substation at Akosombo in the Eastern Region last Thursday, according to the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition.

The Ministry’s spokesperson, Richmond Rockson, disclosed that the fire incident has knocked out nearly 1,000 megawatts of power from the national grid, leading to widespread outages across several regions.

“…we’ve seen power interruptions extend beyond isolated areas. This is due to a fire explosion at the Akosombo substation, a key part of our power generation and transmission network. As it stands, no power is being generated from Akosombo, resulting in a loss of about 1,000 megawatts,” Mr. Rockson said in a Facebook post on Saturday.

He explained that the sudden drop in supply has placed considerable pressure on the national grid, contributing to the ongoing disruptions, stating that engineers from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) are currently on site, working continuously to restore operations safely and as quickly as possible.

He urged the public to remain patient during the recovery period.

Scheduled Outages

In notices issued on Saturday, April 25, 2026, ECG confirmed that power distribution has been disrupted in parts of the Ashanti Region, Central Region, and Greater Accra.

Residents in some areas in these regions are experiencing scheduled outages as a direct result of the incident at the Akosombo substation.

The power cuts are expected to have immediate economic consequences, especially for industries and businesses that depend on constant electricity, such as manufacturing and cold storage.

Lack of Power Reserve

The situation has once again exposed weaknesses in Ghana’s power transmission system, particularly the lack of reserve capacity to absorb unexpected shocks.

“In a resilient power system, you should have about a 20 percent reserve margin. Unfortunately, we don’t have sufficient reserves to rely on in situations like this,” Mr. Rockson noted.

Despite the challenges, the Energy Ministry says steps are being taken to boost generation capacity and strengthen the resilience of the power system.

Ghana’s peak electricity demand is estimated at 4,400 megawatts, with Akosombo typically contributing around 1,000 megawatts.

Electricity Exports Suspended

As part of emergency measures, Ghana has suspended electricity exports to prioritize domestic supply.

The move according to government is necessary to stabilize power across the country.

“We have completely halted exports for now. When there’s a domestic challenge, you address it first. All the power we generate will be directed toward serving the people of Ghana. These are steps we’re taking to stabilize supply nationwide,” Mr. Rockson said.