Ghana has temporarily suspended electricity exports to neighbouring countries following a major fire outbreak at a substation within the Akosombo transmission network, which has significantly affected power supply capacity.
The incident, which occurred on Thursday, April 23, damaged critical infrastructure with an estimated capacity of about 720 megawatts—nearly 70 per cent of the transmission capacity linked to the Akosombo Dam. The disruption has contributed to outages in several parts of the country and raised concerns about grid stability.
Explaining the move, Deputy Energy Minister Richard Gyan-Mensah said the suspension of exports was an emergency response aimed at protecting domestic supply. He assured that the measure is temporary and necessary to manage the shortfall while restoration efforts continue.
In the interim, the Electricity Company of Ghana and GRIDCo are ramping up production from thermal plants to stabilise the system and meet local demand. Technical teams are also working to repair the damaged facility and restore full operations.
The Ministry of Energy and Green Transition has set up a committee to investigate the cause of the fire and recommend measures to prevent future occurrences, as efforts intensify to safeguard the country’s power infrastructure.
