The Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor, has directed the Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Grid Company Limited to step aside pending investigations into the recent fire outbreak at the Akosombo power control centre.
The directive was disclosed by Presidential Spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, in a social media post on Sunday, Aoril 26, 2026, amid growing concerns over power supply disruptions across parts of the country.
According to him, “the 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 center.”
The development follows a major fire incident at the Akosombo Substation on Thursday, April 23, which has since affected electricity transmission and contributed to ongoing load shedding in several areas.
In addition to the directive involving GRIDCo, Mr. Kwakye Ofosu revealed that “there has been a major shake up in the leadership of the ECG in the Ashanti Region,” signalling broader reforms within the power distribution sector.
He further announced that the Energy Minister will address the nation on the unfolding situation, stating that “at 2pm tomorrow, Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor, will hold a major briefing on recent developments in electricity distribution.”
Earlier, GRIDCo confirmed that the fire broke out at about 2:01 p.m. at the Akosombo Substation, disrupting operations and power generation.
“A fire outbreak has been reported at the Akosombo Substation at about 2:01 p.m. today, causing a disruption in operations and power generation,” the company said in a statement.
The transmission company noted that the incident had nationwide implications, explaining that “power supply has been affected in some parts of the country.”
Emergency response teams were swiftly deployed to contain the fire, while engineers commenced efforts to stabilise the system and restore normal supply.
“A full evaluation is currently underway to determine the extent of the impact and to enable technical teams to commence processes to restore normal operations as swiftly as possible,” GRIDCo added.
The company has since assured the public that the situation is under control, urging calm as restoration efforts continue.
The incident has intensified public scrutiny of Ghana’s power infrastructure, especially as intermittent outages have been reported since Friday.
Metrotvonline
