The Ministry of Energy has confirmed the complete shutdown of the Akosombo Dam following a devastating fire at the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) substation in Akosombo, an incident that has triggered widespread power outages across the country.

According to the Ministry’s spokesperson, Richmond Rockson, the decision to shut down the dam became inevitable after critical infrastructure at the facility was destroyed beyond repair.

He revealed that the switchyard at the Akosombo substation was completely gutted by the fire, with the primary control room also extensively damaged.

“The switchyard at the Akosombo substation is completely burnt and cannot be salvaged. The main control room is also gone. When we visited the site, the level of destruction made it difficult to even access parts of the facility,” he said.

Rockson explained that the extent of the damage necessitated the immediate shutdown of the Akosombo Dam, a key source of power generation in Ghana, thereby leading to outages being experienced in several parts of the country.

“With the damage caused, we had no option but to shut down the dam. That is what has resulted in the power outages currently being experienced nationwide, given the critical role Akosombo plays in power generation,” he added.

The fire is reported to have started at about 2:01 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, engulfing the GRIDCo substation, a vital installation responsible for transmitting electricity from the Akosombo Dam into the national grid.

Authorities say assessment and restoration efforts are ongoing as engineers work to stabilise the system and restore power supply.