Accra, Ghana//– nLine Inc., in collaboration with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), today released the GridWatch Accra Dataset.
The dataset, generated as part of MCC’s Ghana Power Compact, offers first-of-kind insights into the quality and reliability of the electricity received by consumers in Ghana.
The data contain granular measurements of power quality in 14 Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Districts across Accra. This dataset is made possible due to the GridWatch Suite of technologies (which combines sensor and advanced data analytics) — developed by nLine specifically to be used in Ghana. For the first time in an African city–one can see up-to-date details of power outages (blackouts) as well as low voltage (brownouts) and high voltage (whiteouts) at households and businesses.
“nLine is excited to release this dataset to support the ongoing efforts of the ECG, the Government of Ghana, and all other stakeholders in making the grid as strong as possible across Ghana,” Dr Noah Klugman, CEO and cofounder of nLine said. “By providing accurate, real-time data, our GridWatch Suite can support stakeholders with critical tools to address the longstanding challenges of power reliability in Ghana’s power sector and enhance the quality of life for millions of Ghanaians.
For decades, the Government of Ghana and the state-owned ECG have sought to address the country’s erratic power supply, which includes extended periods of widespread load-shedding, commonly called dumsor.
Yet, solutions for real-time visibility into grid performance in sub-Saharan Africa, and by extension Ghana, had been limited. Today, nLine’s novel, affordable, agile grid-monitoring technology, GridWatch Suite, and the Accra GridWatch dataset show what is possible —which is how utilities, energy investors and policymakers can design and guide new network investments.
One major callout for the data collected so far is that the best year for Accra’s grid over the last five years was 2022. The Roman Ridge, Makola and Korle-Bu ECG Districts had the fewest number of outages in 2024. The Kasoa South, Ablekuma and Nsawam, ECG Districts recorded the highest number of outages. Kasoa South experienced 209 outages in 2024 which is eight times the number Roman Ridge experienced.
Since 2018, with the support of MCC and MiDA, nLine has developed and deployed more than 1,200 GridWatch sensors across Accra, generating more than nine million data points over five years. The areas measured correspond with the work performed for MCC.
“GridWatch provided high-resolution data on the frequency and scope of power outages, which was essential for the impact evaluation of the Ghana Power Compact,” said Kofi Marfo, M&E and Economics Director for MiDA. “We are excited about the potential to replicate this dataset around the country, strengthening evidence-based policymaking,” he added.
The release of this GridWatch Accra Dataset marks a critical advance in transparency and accountability in Ghana’s power sector, and it empowers stakeholders—including academics, businesses, civil society, development agencies, households, the media, policymakers, and utilities—with concrete data to work towards more reliable power from their unique angles.
Following the successful completion of the first phase of the Ghana project, nLine plans to continue collecting data at scale to support stakeholders across Ghana. Along with the work in Ghana, nLine is in 10 other African countries collecting power quality data to support governments, utilities, public and private investors, and the broader research community.
The full Ghana dataset is available on http://nline.io/public-data
