The Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, has announced a major breakthrough in efforts to stabilise the national grid, confirming that two generating units at the Akosombo Dam are back in service after last week’s substation fire.
Delivering an update at the Government Accountability Series on Monday, 27 April 2026, the Minister said the emergency interventions had progressed faster than expected, with the second unit synchronised just hours before his briefing.
“I am pleased to report that, through emergency technical interventions [and] sheer determination, the first generating unit was successfully restored yesterday. This afternoon, I just received confirmation that the second unit has also been successfully synchronised, bringing the total to 2 units as I address you,” he stated.
The restoration is expected to ease the supply shortfall that triggered widespread outages across Ashanti, Central, and the Tema enclave over the past two days. Jinapor assured that engineers are pressing ahead to bring the remaining units online. Work, he said, is “actively ongoing to bring the third and remaining units back into operation as quickly and safely as possible.”
A central theme of his address was the extraordinary effort of VRA and GRIDCo engineers, many of whom have remained at the dam site for three straight days, working under extreme conditions to bypass fire-damaged systems.
“On behalf of the Government and the good people of Ghana, I wish to take this opportunity to commend and salute our engineers and technical teams who have remained on site, working tirelessly under extremely difficult conditions to restore the system to full operation,” Jinapor said. He praised their “dedication, professionalism, and unwavering commitment,” adding that he was “immensely proud” of their resilience in safeguarding the grid.
With two units now synchronised, attention has shifted to the four remaining. The “innovative bypass technology” deployed during the crisis has proven effective, offering a clear path to full restoration. The third unit is already in its final testing phase, and the Ministry is optimistic that Akosombo’s full 1,000-megawatt capacity will soon be restored, ending emergency load management and returning the country to stable supply.
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