An energy expert, Benjamin Nsiah, has identified inadequate prioritisation, limited capital resources and a lack of financing as major challenges confronting the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), warning that the problems could continue to undermine reliable power supply in the country.

Speaking on STAR FM on August 19, 2026, Nsiah said the transmission system requires urgent attention and significant investment if GRIDCo is to strengthen the national grid and minimise widespread power disruptions.

According to Nsiah, the recurring disruptions highlight the need to prioritise the transmission network, which he considers a critical component of the country's power system.

“The major challenge for us is prioritisation of the system, especially the transmission line. The second challenge aside, prioritising or committing resources to that part of the system is also a lack of capital resources or financial resources,” he said.

He explained that financing remains one of the biggest obstacles to GRIDCo's ability to maintain and expand the transmission infrastructure needed to provide reliable electricity to households and businesses.

He pointed to GRIDCo's requirements under the multi-year tariff framework, saying the company needs between GH¢4 billion and almost GH¢5 billion over the next four years to upgrade its infrastructure and ensure it can reliably transmit electricity to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and other power sector operators.

“As to whether within the next four years they are likely going to mobilise this GH¢4 billion, it's something that I think that maybe government, central government assistance might come in,” he said.

Nsiah also referred to the Energy Compact submitted by the Ministry of Energy, saying the document identified a financing requirement of about US$400 million within a similar timeframe.

GRIDCo reports second nationwide grid failure in three weeks

He therefore described finance as a major challenge for Ghana's national transmission system, alongside the need for government and other stakeholders to give GRIDCo's infrastructure requirements greater priority.

Nsiah, however, stressed that addressing the broader financing and infrastructure challenges facing GRIDCo remains critical to preventing repeated disruptions.

“GRIDCo needs infrastructure support now. GRIDCo needs financial support now and GRIDCo needs prioritisation.

“And until we prioritise GRIDCo, we shall continue to experience these wide outages across the country, ” he stated.

His comments follow a widespread power outage on August 20, 2026, which GRIDCo attributed to a major fault on the Akosombo–Volta transmission line.

The fault triggered the automatic shutdown of the Akosombo generating units and some thermal plants as part of the system’s protection mechanisms.

Parts of Ghana were plunged into darkness from about 4:30 am, with communities in Greater Accra and parts of the Eastern, Northern, Central and Ashanti regions affected.

The incident was the second major disruption to the national power system in less than a month, following another widespread outage on July 29, 2026.

JKB/VPO

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