KEY POINTS
- Ghana’s energy minister ordered GRIDco CEO Mark Awuah Baah to step aside pending a full investigation.
- A fire at Akosombo knocked out between 720 megawatts and 1,000 megawatts of transmission capacity.
- Full restoration of power generation at Akosombo Dam could take up to five days, the ministry confirmed
Ghana’s energy sector is in crisis mode. A fire tore through the Akosombo Power Control Centre on Thursday, knocking out a significant chunk of the country’s transmission capacity. The fallout has been swift and severe.
Energy and Green Transition Minister John Jinapor has ordered GRIDco CEO Ing. Mark Awuah Baah to step aside pending a full investigation into the incident. A major leadership shake-up at the Electricity Company of Ghana in the Ashanti Region has also been announced. Government Communications Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu confirmed both developments in a Facebook post on Sunday, April 26.
The fire broke out at approximately 2:01 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, gutting part of the Akosombo substation switchyard. GRIDco confirmed that emergency shutdowns were triggered immediately and engineers moved to isolate sections of the national grid. The fire knocked out between 720 megawatts and 1,000 megawatts of transmission capacity linked to the dam, one of Ghana’s most critical electricity assets.
What the damage means for Ghana’s grid
The Akosombo Dam sits at the center of Ghana’s electricity value chain. GRIDco transmits power from generators to distributors and large customers across the country, and any disruption at Akosombo ripples across the entire national interconnected transmission system.
The Ministry of Energy has admitted that full restoration of power generation at Akosombo could take up to five days. Engineers are working to stabilize affected systems and restore normal operations. Several parts of the country had already been experiencing intermittent power cuts before the fire, which the ECG leadership and President had attributed to an ongoing upgrade to boost power supply and stability.
What happens next
Jinapor has scheduled a major press briefing at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, April 27, to provide updates on the Akosombo fire and the leadership changes at both GRIDco and ECG.
Awuah Baah has served as GRIDco’s acting Chief Executive since February 2025, bringing over 28 years of experience in system dispatch, planning and corporate strategy. His stepping aside marks the most significant leadership disruption at the company since his appointment.
The investigation will determine whether the fire was the result of equipment failure, negligence or other factors. Until those answers arrive, Ghana’s power sector is operating under a cloud of uncertainty that its citizens are feeling in real time.
