Full power recovery expected by December 2026 — Deputy Minister for Energy

The Deputy Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Richard Gyan-Mensah, has outlined a phased strategy to restore stability to Ghana’s electricity supply, indicating that full recovery from ongoing outages is expected by December 2026.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on April 27, 2026, he explained that the restoration process will unfold in stages, beginning with immediate improvements within days.

“Our generation challenges will be addressed by the end of this week,” he said, referencing repair works at the Akosombo hydroelectric facility. “Beyond that, by the end of June, we should see improvement. By the end of the year, we should see full restoration.”

According to him, the plan starts with the return of all six generating units at the Akosombo plant, expected within the week. This will be followed by the first phase of a nationwide transformer replacement programme, targeted for completion by the end of June. A final phase aimed at achieving stable and sustained supply is projected for December 2026.

The current power disruptions worsened after a fire on April 23, 2026, damaged the control room at the Akosombo facility, reducing generation capacity by more than 1,000 megawatts.

As of April 27, two generating units had been restored, adding an estimated 280 to 300 megawatts to the national grid. The Minister for Energy, John Abdulai Jinapor, visited the site the same day to assess progress, as engineers continue emergency restoration works with support from the Volta River Authority, GRIDCo, the Electricity Company of Ghana, and retired engineers.

Mr Gyan-Mensah said restoring all Akosombo units will significantly reduce the generation shortfall, although he cautioned that distribution challenges may persist due to ageing infrastructure, including overloaded transformers.

He explained that the first phase of the transformer replacement programme will address faulty equipment across the Electricity Company of Ghana and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company by June. A second phase targeting overloaded systems will follow, with full completion expected by December 2026.

He also noted that a GRIDCo report indicated that national generation stood at about 54 percent of expected capacity, with thermal plants operating below optimal levels due to maintenance works that were temporarily halted after the fire incident.

Additionally, electricity exports to Burkina Faso, Togo and Benin have been suspended since April 25 to prioritise domestic supply.

While acknowledging that intermittent outages may persist in the short term, the Deputy Minister said response times and system reliability are expected to improve progressively.

He added that full restoration of Akosombo output should bring noticeable relief to consumers, even as longer-term reforms continue toward a stable national power system.