Nationwide blackout hits Ghana after major grid fault
Ghana has been hit by a nationwide blackout after a major fault on the national power grid triggered widespread outages across the country. The disruption affected the capital, Accra, the commercial hub of Kumasi and much of northern Ghana. Several power plants were forced to shut down in the early hours of Wednesday, according to the state-run power distribution company.
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Ghana Grid Company Limited said its engineers and system operators were working continuously to restore power as quickly as possible without compromising safety. The utility did not say how long it would take for normal supplies to resume. It also said it was carrying out a comprehensive technical investigation to determine the cause of the outage.
The blackout left homes, businesses and essential services without electricity across multiple regions. Commuters reported difficulties getting to work, with some people unable to charge phones and therefore struggling to pay for transport or use ride-hailing apps. Small businesses and users of digital services were also affected, although larger institutions such as hospitals typically have backup generators.
The outage comes against the backdrop of Ghana's long-running power supply problems, known locally as "dumsor", meaning "on and off" in the Akan language. The country has experienced regular shortages for years, although the situation has improved in recent times. Ghana has also been expanding gas-fired generation to help meet rising demand as the population grows and becomes more urbanised.
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Even so, the electricity sector remains vulnerable to transmission failures and fuel supply interruptions. Most of Ghana's power is still generated by ageing hydropower plants, which have suffered from poor maintenance over the years. That makes the grid sensitive to technical faults, especially when several plants are taken offline at once.
What remains unclear is the exact cause of the fault and how long restoration will take. GRIDCo has not given a timetable for the return of normal supply, and the scale of the disruption may vary by region as repairs continue. The key issue now is whether engineers can stabilise the system quickly enough to prevent further interruptions and wider economic disruption.
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