Ghana has temporarily halted electricity exports to neighbouring countries following a major fire incident at a key transmission facility at Akosombo, as authorities move to stabilise domestic power supply amid renewed outages in parts of the country.
The Ministry of Energy and Green Transition confirmed that the emergency measure follows damage to critical infrastructure at the Akosombo substation, which has knocked out between 720 megawatts and nearly 1,000 megawatts of power from the national grid.
The disruption has intensified power instability in several areas already experiencing intermittent outages in recent weeks, placing additional strain on households and businesses.
Speaking in an interview on Friday, Deputy Energy Minister Richard Gyan-Mensah said the suspension of exports is a temporary but necessary step to protect local supply.
“This is an emergency that has actually occasioned it. It is brief; it is not something that is going to last longer… In this situation, we need to take some actions and this is one of them.”
Ghana has in recent years positioned itself as a net exporter of electricity in West Africa, supplying power to countries such as Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso through regional power arrangements.
But the Akosombo disruption has forced a temporary reversal, with authorities prioritising domestic demand.
In a separate interview, Ministry spokesperson Richmond Rockson added that exports have been fully suspended as part of efforts to redirect available power to local consumers.
“As we speak, we have stopped exports completely. Once you have an issue domestically, you take care of your home first. Every power we are generating will be for the good people of Ghana.”
The fire, which occurred on Thursday, April 23, destroyed critical components within the substation, an important transmission node linked to the Akosombo Dam, one of the country’s primary sources of electricity.
Officials say the affected facility represents a substantial share of the transmission capacity associated with the dam, making the impact on the national grid immediate and significant.
In response, the Electricity Company of Ghana and GRIDCo are ramping up output from available thermal plants to help stabilise supply and reduce the risk of prolonged outages.
Engineers are currently working to restore operations, with initial recovery expected within 24 hours.
“Akosombo has six units… within 24 hours, they will be able to start the first unit… and bring the other units back on stream,” he said.
While early projections suggested full restoration could take up to five days, efforts are underway to accelerate the process and minimise disruption.
The Ministry has also constituted a committee to investigate the cause of the fire and recommend measures to prevent a recurrence.
