Current power outages not entirely due to Akosombo fire outbreak — Adomako Mensah

The Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Energy Committee, Collins Adomako Mensah, has cast doubt on claims that the recent nationwide power outages are solely due to the Akosombo fire incident.

The country has experienced intermittent electricity supply over the past two weeks, raising concerns among households and businesses.

The outages were initially attributed to ongoing transformer upgrade works by the Electricity Company of Ghana.

However, the situation worsened following a fire outbreak at a Ghana Grid Company power control centre at Akosombo, which led to a loss of about 1,000 megawatts from the national grid.

Speaking to Accra-based JoyNews on Monday, April 27, the MP said the power challenges predated the incident.

“I’m not too sure it can entirely be attributed to what happened… it was obviously even before the fire… the lights were not stable.

"What happened at Akosombo has just exacerbated the situation and made it even more precarious," he said.

Mr. Adomako Mensah described the fire as unfortunate but stressed that it was not the sole trigger of the ongoing outages.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, has announced that two generation units have been restored, with all six expected to be operational by the close of the week.

Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, the Minister assured that engineers are working around the clock to stabilize the national grid and restore reliable power supply.