The leadership of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Ashanti Region has undergone significant changes following repeated complaints about intermittent power cuts in that part of the country.
This was communicated by the Government Spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, on his official Facebook page on Sunday, April 26. There are, however, no clear details as to who has been affected by the shakeup.
The shake-up follows a fire outbreak on Thursday, April 23, which gutted part of the Akosombo substation switchyard, disrupting transmission and affecting a key section of the country’s power infrastructure.
The Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) confirmed that the incident occurred at about 2:01 p.m., triggering emergency shutdowns and forcing engineers to isolate sections of the national grid. The fire is estimated to have knocked out between 720 megawatts and 1,000 megawatts of transmission capacity linked to the dam, one of Ghana’s most critical electricity generation assets.
The Ministry of Energy and Green Transition has admitted that full restoration of power generation at the Akosombo Dam could take up to five days following the fire, as engineers work to stabilise affected systems and restore normal operations.
In response to the incident, the Energy and Green Transition Minister has directed the Chief Executive Officer of GRIDCo to step aside pending investigations into the cause of the fire. The move is aimed at ensuring an independent and transparent probe.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) recently assured residents of Kumasi and the wider Ashanti Region of significant improvements in power supply within the next six months, following recent disruptions that have affected economic and social activities.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor, is expected to brief the media at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, April 27, on developments in the electricity distribution sector.
