GRIDCo explains cause of widespread power outage

Parts of the country were plunged into darkness in the early hours of Thursday, August 20, 2026, following a major fault on the national power transmission system.

The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), in a statement, said the disturbance occurred at about 4:30 am on the Akosombo-Volta transmission line, resulting in the loss of power supply to some parts of the country.

According to GRIDCo, the fault triggered the automatic tripping of the Akosombo generating units and some thermal generating plants.

“The fault resulted in the automatic tripping of the Akosombo generating units and some thermal generating plants as part of the system's protection mechanisms to safeguard the integrity and stability of the National Interconnected Transmission System.

Widespread power outage hits parts of Ghana

“This consequently resulted in the loss of power supply to some parts of the country," the statement said.

GRIDCo said its engineers working with other power sector agencies have initiated efforts to isolate the affected transmission line and restore electricity supply.

“Immediately following the incident, GRIDCo engineers, working in close coordination with other power sector agencies, took steps to isolate the affected transmission line and commenced the safe and systematic restoration of the power system,” it noted.

The company further disclosed that power had already been restored to some affected areas, while efforts were ongoing to restore supply to the remaining customers.

GRIDCo apologised for the inconvenience caused and assured the public that its technical teams had been fully mobilised to achieve complete restoration of the power system.

See the full statement below:

GRIDCo Press Information: Power Restoration Update. pic.twitter.com/p6ihJdUlWL

— Ghana Grid Company LTD. (@GRIDCo_ghana) August 20, 2026