‎13 Hours Without Power: What ECG's Ashanti Outage Means for Kumasi and Its Neighbours

Residents of parts of the Ashanti Region should prepare for a long day in the dark. Punch's front page for 11–13 November reports that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has announced a 13-hour power outage on Thursday, 12 November.

It names Offinso, Kronom, Barekese and several other communities as affected. I could not find the full ECG notice online, so the exact start time and complete list of communities should be checked against ECG's own advisory.

A 13-hour outage is long by the standard of ECG's recent notices. The previous planned outage in the Offinso–Barekese corridor, on 29 October, ran for eight hours, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, and covered Barekese Headworks and Offinso among dozens of communities.

An earlier one in April lasted nine hours. ECG describes such exercises as maintenance to improve service delivery, so the longer window suggests heavier work on the network.

The affected area matters beyond homes and shops. In September 2025, the Barekese Water Treatment Plant was forced to shut down because of power supply challenges, disrupting water supply to several communities in the Ashanti Region.

Barekese Headworks appears on earlier ECG outage lists, so households, hospitals and small businesses that depend on piped water should store water ahead of time. Cold stores, welders, barbers, mills and cement and quarry operations in the corridor will also bear the cost of lost hours.

The outage also comes amid wider strain on supply in the region. On 27 October, a fault on the Guinness 1 feeder cut power to Atasomanso, Ahodwo, Adiebeba and nearby areas.

More recently, a fault on the Apire feeder left Apire, Hemang, Bebu and other communities without electricity. ECG has said it plans to install more than 900 transformers in Ashanti, and to upgrade the Adoato to Offinso sub-transmission line through Barekese.

The question for ECG is not only whether the maintenance happens, but whether it brings lasting improvement. Communities that endure repeated shutdowns deserve clear notice, accurate timings and a visible drop in faults afterwards.

What residents can do: charge phones and power banks the night before, store drinking water, refrigerate only what you need, and check ECG's official channels for the final list and times.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,

International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. (USIP)

[email protected]
+233555275880

Sources
Punch (Ghana), Edition 423, 11–13 Nov 2026, front page (uploaded image).

YEN.com.gh, "ECG Announces 8-Hour Power Outage in Parts of Ashanti Region on October 29": https://yen.com.gh/ghana/314689-ecg-announces-8-hour-power-outage-parts-ashanti-region-october-29/

Graphic Online, planned maintenance, Thursday 9 April 2026: https://graphiconline.com/news/general-news/see-the-areas-that-will-be-affected-by-ecgs-planned-maintenance-on-thursday-april-9-2026.html

Citi Newsroom, "Barekese water treatment plant shuts down over power challenges" (25 Sep 2025): https://citinewsroom.com/2025/09/barekese-water-treatment-plant-shuts-down-over-power-challenges/

YEN.com.gh, "ECG Explains Cause of Power Outage in Parts of Ashanti Region" (Guinness 1 feeder): https://yen.com.gh/ghana/314546-electricity-company-ghana-explains-power-outage-parts-ashanti-region/

YEN.com.gh, "ECG Explains Cause of Power Outage… Apire feeder": https://yen.com.gh/ghana/315297-dumsor-ecg-explains-power-outage-parts-ashanti-region/

MyJoyOnline, "ECG to install over 900 transformers in Ashanti Region": https://www.myjoyonline.com/ecg-to-install-over-900-transformers-in-ashanti-region-to-improve-power-supply/