Ghana has temporarily halted electricity exports following a fire outbreak at a substation near the Akosombo Dam, which has knocked out nearly 1,000 megawatts of power from the national grid.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, Richmond Rockson, said the decision is part of emergency measures to stabilise domestic power supply.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on Friday, April 24, he explained that priority is now being given to meeting local demand.
“As we speak, we have stopped export completely. Once you have an issue domestically, you take care of your home first. Every power we are generating now is for the people of Ghana,” he said.
The outage follows an inferno at a substation linked to the Akosombo Dam, a key power generation facility that contributes significantly to the country’s electricity supply.
According to Mr Rockson, engineers are working urgently to restore operations, with initial progress expected within 24 hours.
“Akosombo has six units. The engineers have assured us that within 24 hours, they will be able to start the first unit. Once that is done, they will replicate the process to bring the other units back on stream,” he stated.
He added that while engineers initially projected up to five days for full restoration, efforts are being made to shorten the timeline.
“If the first unit is successfully restored within 24 hours, it will speed up the entire process,” he said.
Providing further context on the impact of the outage, Mr Rockson noted that Ghana’s peak electricity demand stands at about 4,400 megawatts, with Akosombo contributing roughly 1,000 megawatts.
“Our peak demand is about 4,400 megawatts, and Akosombo gives us approximately 1,000 megawatts. As we speak, we have lost close to that,” he explained.
He acknowledged that the situation has exposed the country’s limited reserve capacity, which makes it difficult to absorb such shocks.
“In a resilient power system, you should have about 20 per cent reserve margin. Unfortunately, we do not have enough reserve to fall on in situations like this,” he said.
Despite the setback, the Energy Ministry says efforts are underway to strengthen generation capacity and improve system resilience. Government has announced plans to add about 1,200 megawatts to the national grid, alongside 200 megawatts of solar power with battery storage.
Additional projects aimed at providing between 200 and 400 megawatts of reserve capacity are also being pursued.
Mr Rockson, however, assured that gas supply remains stable and is not contributing to the current disruption.
While admitting the scale of the challenge, he expressed confidence in ongoing restoration efforts.
“Once you lose about 1,000 megawatts, it is a major challenge. But engineers are working diligently, and we are confident normal supply will be restored,” he said.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com