Amid the ongoing power sector challenges, the government says it is moving to tackle one of the most overlooked causes of its persistent power outages, which is ageing and overstretched transformers, as it rolls out an ambitious plan to install 2,500 new units nationwide.
Ghana’s electricity demand has more than doubled over the past decade, far outpacing investment in distribution infrastructure. The result has been a fragile system marked by overloaded transformers, low voltages and recurring outages affecting homes and businesses.
At a media briefing, the Minister for Energy, John Abdulai Jinapor, disclosed that the intervention is already underway. He noted that this intervention is designed as both an emergency response and a long-term fix.
Revealed that nearly 200 transformers have been installed this month alone, with an additional 140 expected to be deployed within the weeks.
“Government is addressing this issue head-on by implementing a nationwide transformer upgrade and replacement programme. As an immediate intervention, this month alone, we have installed almost 200 transformers, In Tamale, on the day of the incident, I personally visited Tamale, and we have the list of all the areas that these transformers have been installed,” the Minister indicated.
He added, “This week, we intend to deploy another 140 of these transformers. In all, we seek to deploy 2,500 transformers to improve supply reliability and improve the voltages as well.”
Beyond the numbers, the strategy is also about upgrading capacity. The minister further announced that the government is replacing smaller, outdated units with higher-capacity transformers at key supply points to better handle rising demand.
Areas such as Adenta, Lashibi, and Teshie Nungua have already seen installations, with Kumasi next in line.
“To improve these voltages, high-capacity transformers are being deployed at key primary supply stations. Already, we have done Adenta, and that can be verified. We’ve done Lashibi, which can be verified. Yesterday, we did Teshie Nungua, which can be verified. Within this week, by the close of week, we’ll move to Kumasi to tackle the rich primary substation. These are big, big transformers, and we are moving away from the 20 kVAs to about 30 kVAs and above,” he added.
For many consumers, the issue has been less about total power generation and more about the ability to deliver that power efficiently. In several communities, even when electricity is available, weak transformers have meant fluctuating voltages, damaged appliances and unreliable service.
This nationwide deployment aims to change that. By strengthening the distribution backbone, the new transformers are expected to reduce system overloads, improve voltage stability and ensure more consistent power delivery across both urban and peri-urban areas.
