In a major update during the Government Accountability Series today, Monday, April 27, 2026, the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Dr. John Abdulai Jinapor, confirmed that the national grid is beginning to stabilize following the "unprecedented" fire at the Akosombo Substation last Thursday.
The Minister revealed that after three days of non-stop work—with some engineers reportedly refusing to leave the site until progress was made—the recovery effort has reached a significant milestone.
The Restoration Status (As of 3:00 PM Today)
Dr. Jinapor provided a breakdown of the technical progress at the dam:
Unit 1 & 2 Restored: The first generating unit was successfully brought back online yesterday, Sunday. Just hours before his press briefing this afternoon, a second unit was successfully synchronized to the national grid.
Unit 3 Progress: Engineers are currently working on the third unit, with expectations that it will be operational by tomorrow.
Full Capacity: The Minister assured the public that all six generating units are expected to be back at full strength by the end of this week.
The Scale of the "Shock"
Dr. Jinapor did not mince words about the severity of the April 23 fire, which he described as one of the most serious system shocks in Ghana's history.
"When you lose the control room, you lose the ability to evacuate power. This incident left over 1,000 megawatts of power stranded at Akosombo.
It is a major deficit, and I deeply empathize with every Ghanaian household and business currently in the dark." — Dr. John Jinapor, April 27, 2026.
Investigation: Arson Not Ruled Out
While a technical committee led by Ing. William Amuna is investigating the mechanical cause of the fire, the Minister revealed a "parallel" investigation by security agencies.
Criminal Dimension: Dr. Jinapor confirmed that the government is not ruling out arson or criminal sabotage.
Two-Week Deadline: The technical committee has 14 days to submit a full report on how such a massive fire could bypass existing safety protocols at the substation.
Longer-Term Fix: 2,500 New Transformers
To address the other cause of recent outages—overloaded local equipment—the Minister announced a nationwide Transformer Upgrade Programme.
The Goal: To replace and upgrade 2,500 transformers across the country.
Capacity Boost: Many local stations are being moved from 20MVA to 30MVA and higher to handle the increased demand in growing urban enclaves like Adenta, Lashibi, Teshie, and Kumasi.
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