GRIDCo CEO steps aside as ECG Ashanti leadership reshuffled
The Minister of Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, has directed the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), Mark Awuah Baah, to step aside pending investigations into a fire outbreak at the Akosombo power control centre.
The directive was disclosed by the Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, in a post on X on Sunday, April 26, 2026.
According to him, the Energy Minister has also initiated a major leadership shake-up within the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Ashanti Region following recent intermittent power outages.
“Minister for Energy and Green Transition has asked the CEO of GRIDCo to step aside pending investigations into the fire incident at Akosombo power control centre. Also, there has been a major shake-up in the leadership of the ECG in the Ashanti Region,” he stated.
He further indicated that Mr. Jinapor will provide additional details on these developments and other sector issues at a scheduled briefing on Monday, April 27, 2026.
“At 2:00 pm tomorrow, the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Hon. John Jinapor, will hold a major briefing on recent developments in electricity distribution,” he added.
Background
The directive follows a fire incident at a substation near the Akosombo Dam, which forced a shutdown and knocked out about 1,000 megawatts of power from the national grid.
Head of Communications at the Ministry, Richmond Rockson, said the outage has significantly disrupted power generation and could affect electricity supply nationwide.
Speaking on Super Morning Show on Joy FM on Friday, April 24, he noted that Ghana’s peak electricity demand is around 4,400 megawatts, with the Akosombo facility contributing nearly 1,000 megawatts.
“Our peak demand is about 4,400 megawatts. Akosombo gives us approximately 1,000 megawatts, and as we speak, we have lost close to that,” he said.
He explained that the impact has been severe due to the country’s limited reserve capacity, stressing that an efficient power system should maintain about 20 percent of its generation as backup for emergencies.
“Unfortunately, we do not have enough reserve margin,” he stated, attributing the challenge partly to constraints in expanding generation capacity in recent years.
Despite the setback, Mr. Rockson assured that measures are being implemented to stabilise supply and prevent future disruptions. These include plans to add about 1,200 megawatts of new power to the national grid, alongside 200 megawatts of solar energy supported by battery storage.
He added that additional projects are underway to secure between 200 and 400 megawatts of reserve capacity to strengthen system reliability, expressing confidence that engineers are working to restore normal power supply as soon as possible.
Minister for Energy and Green Transition has asked the CEO of GRIDCo to step aside pending investigations into fire incident at Akosombo power control center.
Also, there has been a major shake up in the leadership of the ECG in the Ashanti Region.
At 2pm tomorrow, Minister…
— Felix Kwakye Ofosu (@FelixKwakyeOfo1) April 26, 2026
Comments (0)