The Ministry of Energy and Green Transition has announced the shutdown of the Akosombo Dam following a fire outbreak at a substation operated by the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo).
The incident has caused major disruptions to power supply across the country.
According to the Ministry, the fire led to extensive damage to critical infrastructure at the Akosombo substation, forcing authorities to temporarily shut down the dam as a safety measure.
Speaking on Citi FM’s Breakfast Show, the Ministry’s spokesperson, Richmond Rockson, revealed that the blaze severely affected the dam’s switchyard system, rendering it inoperable.“The switchyard at the Akosombo substation is completely burnt and not salvageable.
The primary control room is also destroyed,” he stated.He explained that the destruction has significantly impacted Ghana’s power generation and distribution network, leading to outages in several parts of the country.The fire is reported to have started around 2:01 pm on Thursday, April 23, 2026.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, has directed the CEO of GRIDCo, Mark Awuah Baah, to step aside pending investigations into the incident.
This was confirmed by the Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, who also disclosed that a major shake-up has been carried out at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Ashanti Region following recent power outages.
