GRIDCo CEO asked to step aside after Akosombo fire disrupts power supply

The Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, has directed the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Grid Company Limited, Ing. Mark Awuah Baah, to step aside pending investigations into a fire outbreak at the Akosombo Power Control Centre that has disrupted electricity supply across the country.

The directive follows a major fire incident at the facility, which forms a critical part of Ghana’s power transmission system. The blaze triggered emergency shutdowns and forced engineers to isolate sections of the national grid, resulting in widespread outages and intermittent supply in several regions.

Officials say the fire, which occurred earlier in the week, damaged key control systems and is estimated to have knocked out between 720 and 1,000 megawatts of transmission capacity linked to the Akosombo installation. The disruption has heightened public concern, with households and businesses grappling with prolonged power cuts.

The Minister’s decision to ask the GRIDCo boss to step aside is intended to ensure an independent and transparent investigation into the cause of the fire and the extent of damage to the infrastructure.

As part of broader measures to stabilise the power sector, there has also been a leadership shake-up within the Electricity Company of Ghana in the Ashanti Region. The changes, announced by government spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu, follow persistent complaints of erratic power supply in the region.

The recent outages have coincided with ongoing upgrade works aimed at improving the stability and capacity of the national grid, although authorities acknowledge that the fire has compounded existing challenges in the sector.

The Ministry has indicated that full restoration of operations at the Akosombo facility could take several days, as engineers work to repair damaged systems and restore normal transmission levels.

Mr Jinapor is expected to provide further updates during a scheduled press briefing at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, where he will outline steps being taken to address the disruptions and strengthen the resilience of the national grid.

Government has assured the public of its commitment to restoring stable electricity supply and addressing the underlying issues affecting power distribution across the country.