Accra: The Ministry of Energy and Green Transition confirmed on Monday that the Akosombo Dam has been shut down following a devastating fire outbreak at a key facility within the power generation enclave last Thursday.
According to Ghana News Agency, the fire engulfed the switchyard control room at the Akosombo substation, a critical installation responsible for evacuating power generated from the dam to the national grid. This incident has caused widespread power outages across parts of the country. Mr. Richmond Rockson, the Head of Communications at the Ministry, disclosed in an interview that the facility was completely destroyed and unsalvageable. "The entire control room for the switchyard is burnt to ashes. It is not something that can be repaired; it has to be rebuilt," he stated.
Mr. Rockson further explained that the destruction of the switchyard rendered it impossible to evacuate power from the dam, necessitating an immediate shutdown of operations to protect both equipment and personnel. He elaborated, "Once you generate power and you cannot evacuate it, you have no option but to shut down. That is why Akosombo has been taken off."
This shutdown has significant implications for the country's power supply, as the Akosombo Dam is a major contributor to Ghana's energy mix. With hydropower accounting for roughly 28 to 30 percent of total generation, the Akosombo Dam alone provides about 20 percent. Mr. Rockson also disclosed that the situation had affected power generation at the Kpong Dam downstream, which depended on water flows from Akosombo, further compounding the deficit.
He noted that engineers had commenced emergency restoration works, adopting innovative measures to bypass the damaged control system and partially restore operations. "As we speak, one unit out of the six at Akosombo has been brought back online. Engineers are working around the clock to replicate this for the remaining units," he said. Mr. Rockson expressed optimism that substantial restoration would be achieved within the week. "In the coming days, we expect significant improvement. The engineers have assured us that by the end of the week, more units should be operational," he added.
Mr. Rockson appealed to the public for patience, assuring that efforts were being intensified to restore stable power supply. Meanwhile, the Government has set up a seven-member committee to investigate the cause of the fire, and Mr. Mark Awuah Baah, the Chief Executive Officer of GRIDCo, has been asked to step aside to allow for an independent probe. The committee has two weeks to complete its work.