Energy Minister John Abdulai Jinapor says recent reforms helped stabilise Ghana’s power supply before the major disruption at the Akosombo Dam exposed lingering structural weaknesses in the system.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series, Jinapor pointed to improved fuel supply, debt reduction and tighter spending controls as key factors behind a period of relative stability over the past year. That progress, he said, has been tested by a fire incident that crippled a critical control system at Akosombo, Ghana’s largest hydroelectric plant, leaving more than 1,000 megawatts stranded and triggering supply shortfalls.
“These reforms showed measurable results,” Jinapor said, adding that power had been “relatively stable” for an extended period before the disruption.
The minister said government increased gas supply from domestic fields including Jubilee and TEN, alongside imports via the West African Gas Pipeline, helping to stabilise generation. At the same time, it restored confidence among independent power producers, some of whom had previously threatened shutdowns over payment arrears.
On the financial side, the minister said the sector paid more than $1.4 billion in energy debt and reinstated a $500 million World Bank partial risk guarantee. He also cited sharp spending cuts at the Electricity Company of Ghana, saying expenditure had fallen to $1.8 billion from $9.3 billion a year earlier, driven by what he described as efficiency gains and stricter controls.
The disruption at Akosombo has, however, shifted attention back to infrastructure risks.
A fire damaged the plant’s control room, a key hub that routes generated power into the national grid. Without it, electricity produced at the facility could not be evacuated, effectively sidelining one of Ghana’s most critical generation assets.
Jinapor described the incident as “one of the most serious and unprecedented disruptions” in the energy sector, noting that Akosombo plays a central role in balancing national load demand.
Emergency repairs have begun to restore capacity. Two generation units have already been brought back online, with a third undergoing works, according to the minister. Engineers are working around the clock to return the remaining units to service within days, he said.
While the outage has been driven by a specific incident, Jinapor acknowledged deeper systemic issues, particularly in electricity distribution. Ageing transformers, rising demand and years of underinvestment have led to overloads, low voltage and recurring outages in parts of the country. Demand, he said, has more than doubled over the past decade, outpacing infrastructure upgrades.
To address this, the government, he said, has begun a nationwide programme to deploy 2,500 transformers, with about 200 already installed and another 140 scheduled within the week. Higher-capacity equipment is also being rolled out at key substations in Accra and other urban centres, alongside planned transmission upgrades in Kumasi.
The minister said a technical committee has been set up to investigate the cause of the Akosombo fire, with findings expected within two weeks. Security agencies are conducting a parallel probe into possible criminal factors.
Jinapor framed the current disruptions as temporary, stressing that the broader trajectory of the sector remains positive. Still, the incident underscores the fragility of recent gains and the scale of investment required to sustain reliable power supply.
