All six generating units at the Akosombo Dam are back in service, Energy Minister John Abdulai Jinapor announced on Friday, May 1, drawing a line under a national power emergency that began when a fire gutted the facility’s control room on April 23, 2026.
Jinapor confirmed the development on his social media accounts, crediting engineers, technicians, and emergency teams from the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), the Volta River Authority (VRA), and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for working through the night over consecutive days to achieve full restoration.
The fire, which broke out at approximately 2:01 p.m. on April 23 at the GRIDCo switchyard substation within the Akosombo complex, destroyed the primary control room and knocked more than 1,000 megawatts off the national grid, forcing a complete shutdown of all six generating units. The Ministry of Energy and Green Transition described it at the time as one of the most serious disruptions Ghana’s power sector had ever experienced.
Restoration proceeded unit by unit across the week. The first two units returned to service by April 27, when Jinapor addressed the nation at the Government Accountability Series and gave his assurance that all units would be operational before the end of the week. A third and fourth unit were brought back online on April 28 and April 29 respectively, followed by a fifth unit on April 30. The sixth and final unit was confirmed operational on May 1, completing the recovery within the original five-day window that engineers had initially projected.
Investigations into the cause of the fire remain active. A seven-member technical committee chaired by Ing. William Amuna is expected to report within two to three weeks. Security agencies are conducting a parallel criminal inquiry. GRIDCo Chief Executive Officer Mark Awuah Baah was directed on April 26 to step aside pending the outcome of those investigations.
