Ghana: Deepening Power Crisis Is Worrying; We Need Reforms – ACEP

The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), a policy think tank in the Republic of Ghana, has raised serious concerns over what it describes as a worsening power supply crisis in the country, warning that recent prolonged outages, weak communication, and underlying structural failures are deepening public frustration and threatening economic stability.

A transformer replacement and upgrading exercise by the two power utility companies—the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo)—has escalated power outages across the country, forcing many businesses to rely on alternative sources of energy to continue operations.

The six-hour power cuts occurring in the morning, afternoon, and evening have triggered public outcry nationwide.

In a statement issued in Accra on Monday, April 27, 2026, and signed by Kodzo Yaotse, Policy Lead for Petroleum and Conventional Energy at ACEP, the organisation said households, businesses, and institutions have endured over a month of escalating power cuts. The situation, it argued, has been aggravated by the recent fire at the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) Akosombo substation, which removed about 960MW of relatively cheap and reliable generation capacity from the system.

ACEP noted that while system operators have been issuing updates on expected outage areas, the information has been inconsistent and unreliable, with many communities experiencing outages beyond published schedules.

“ACEP acknowledges that some communication is being issued indicating areas expected to experience power cuts. However, this communication has been irregular, inconsistent, and unreliable, with outages frequently extending beyond announced areas and affecting communities not captured in these notices,” the statement said.

It added that explanations from system managers attributing the crisis partly to transformer upgrades and replacements are not fully convincing, citing past instances where similar explanations were later found to be inaccurate following independent audits by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC).

ACEP warned that the scale and duration of the current outages suggest deeper systemic challenges beyond routine maintenance activities.

“Even if transformer upgrades and replacements are genuinely underway, the scale, concurrence, and duration of the outages nationwide point to deeper systemic failures,” it said, pointing to constraints in gas supply and processing, maintenance backlogs, and planning inefficiencies.

The energy policy group also cautioned the Energy Minister against relying on short-term emergency interventions in responding to the crisis, arguing that such measures have historically led to costly consequences for the state and consumers.

“ACEP strongly encourages the Minister to resist the pressure of reactive, short-term interventions that may appear decisive but risk generating deeper problems if not carefully assessed and transparently implemented,” it said.

The statement further stressed the need for structural reforms in the power sector, including improved planning, transparent procurement, and stronger institutional accountability across the electricity value chain.

On the Akosombo fire incident, ACEP described the loss of nearly 1,000MW of capacity as a serious public interest issue, calling for a thorough and independent investigation into the cause of the incident.

“A fire of that scale should not occur where proper safety systems and modern operational standards are in place,” it said, urging authorities to ensure accountability and prevent future occurrences.

ACEP outlined a series of urgent actions it believes are necessary to address the crisis, including the immediate publication of a reliable load-shedding timetable by GRIDCo and system operators to help households and businesses plan effectively.

It also called for a clear timeline for restoring full power supply, deeper oversight by the PURC through an independent investigation, and full public disclosure of all findings related to the Akosombo fire and the broader outages.

The group said transparency and accountability are critical to restoring public confidence in Ghana’s power sector and preventing future systemic failures.