Akosombo substation fire an opportunity to modernise power infrastructure — Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has described the recent fire outbreak at the Akosombo power enclave as an opportunity to modernise critical infrastructure, following disruptions that led to renewed power outages across the country.

The President made the remarks on Thursday, April 30, after visiting the Akosombo Dam to assess the impact of the incident, which affected a substation operated by the Ghana Grid Company Limited.

The fire damaged key equipment and resulted in the loss of more than 1,000 megawatts of power to the national grid, causing intermittent electricity supply in several parts of the country.

Addressing engineers and officials during the visit, President Mahama said the setback presents an opportunity to rebuild with improved systems.

“This presents an opportunity because now that this adversity has happened, it gives us an opportunity to replace it with a more modern control room that will serve this Akosombo Plant and let it work for more generations yet to come,” he said.

He commended technical teams for their swift response in restoring operations, noting the progress made in stabilising power generation.

“You have four of the turbines back on, and he says that you’re working another miracle and that I will get good news soon with the remaining two turbines also coming back on,” he added.

The President reaffirmed government’s commitment to supporting key state energy institutions, describing both the Volta River Authority and the Ghana Grid Company Limited as vital to the country’s power sector.

“VRA will continue to be one of the foremost state owned enterprises, and every support the government can give you, we will continue to give you,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Energy, John Abdulai Jinapor, confirmed that four power generation units at the dam have been restored, with the remaining units expected to return to operation within the week.