By Benjamin A. Commey, GNA
Accra, April 27, GNA – The Ministry of Energy and Green Transition on Monday confirmed that the Akosombo Dam has been shut down following a devastating fire outbreak at a key facility within the power generation enclave last Thursday.
The fire engulfed the switchyard control room at the Akosombo substation, a critical installation responsible for evacuating power generated from the dam to the national grid, causing widespread power outages across parts of the country.
Mr Richmond Rockson, the Head of Communications at the Ministry, who disclosed this in an interview monitored by the Ghana News Agency, said the facility was completely destroyed and was not salvageable.
“The entire control room for the switchyard is burnt to ashes. It is not something that can be repaired; it has to be rebuilt,” he said.
Mr Rockson explained that the destruction of the switchyard made it impossible to evacuate power from the dam, necessitating an immediate shutdown of operations to protect both equipment and personnel.
“Once you generate power and you cannot evacuate it, you have no option but to shut down. That is why Akosombo has been taken off,” he added.
“This has significant implications for the country’s power supply, as the Akosombo Dam is a major contributor to Ghana’s energy mix,” Mr Rockson said.
With hydropower accounting for roughly 28 to 30 per cent of total generation, the Akosombo Dam alone provide about 20 per cent.
Mr. Rockson disclosed that the situation had also affected power generation at the Kpong Dam downstream, which depended on water flows from Akosombo, further compounding the deficit.
He noted that engineers had since commenced emergency restoration works, adopting innovative measures to bypass the damaged control system and partially restore operations.
“As we speak, one unit out of the six at Akosombo has been brought back online. Engineers are working around the clock to replicate this for the remaining units,” he said.
Mr Rockson expressed optimism that substantial restoration would be achieved within the week.
“In the coming days, we expect significant improvement. The engineers have assured us that by the end of the week, more units should be operational,” he added.
He appealed to the public for patience, assuring that efforts were being intensified to restore stable power supply.
Meanwhile, the Government has set up a seven-member committee to investigate the cause of the fire, while Mr Mark Awuah Baah, the Chief Executive Officer of GRIDCo, has been asked to step aside to allow for an independent probe.
The committee has two weeks to complete its work.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe