Ghana’s power problems persist despite the government's claims that the Akosombo Hydroelectric Dam is fully operational, Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary of COPEC, warns.

His remarks came after recent intermittent power outages across parts of the country. Authorities have attributed these outages to ongoing transformer upgrade works and a fire incident at a Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) control room near the Akosombo Dam.

During his May Day address, President John Dramani Mahama announced that all six generating units at the Akosombo facility were back online and functioning at full capacity, a development expected to stabilise electricity supply nationwide.

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/System-is-fragile-dumsor-will-persist-Energy-expert-2032536

However, Amoah, speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Friday, May 2, argued that the country’s energy problems extend beyond just generation capacity.

“When you leave the politicians to tell you what they did and what they didn’t do, you may be led to believe we are out of the woods, but the truth is we are not,” he said.

According to him, the root of the problem lies in outdated and deteriorating equipment, such as transmission lines, transformers, and substations, within Ghana’s electricity transmission and distribution systems. This equipment often fails or cannot handle current electricity demands, resulting in frequent outages.

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“If you have a system that has been functioning since 1957 without consistent upgrades, then anytime there is rain or wind, you risk pylons collapsing or lines clashing, leading to outages in affected communities,” he explained.

Amoah stressed that without sustained investment in modernising infrastructure, power disruptions are likely to continue despite improvements in generation.

“I think it is fundamentally an infrastructure issue,” he added.

VPO/SEA

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