The Africa Sustainable Energy Centre (ASEC) has called for sweeping reforms in Ghana's electricity transmission infrastructure following the release of an investigative report into the recent fire at the Akosombo Substation.

According to ASEC, the incident, which investigators attributed to insulation failure caused by ageing infrastructure rather than sabotage, exposed serious weaknesses in the country's power transmission system that must be addressed immediately.

Read also: Akosombo Substation fire caused by insulation failure, not sabotage – Investigation Committee

In a statement issued on Thursday, June 11, the organisation commended the investigation committee for its work and welcomed the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition's commitment to implementing the report's recommendations.

ASEC described the incident as one that could have been prevented, stating that it represented "a pure engineering and structural failure" rather than an unavoidable accident.

The energy policy think tank said the findings should serve as a national wake-up call and urged authorities to strengthen maintenance practices, fire protection systems and power network reliability.

ASEC called for regular Infrared (IR) thermographic inspections to become standard practice across major substations, transformers, switchgear and cable systems.

The organisation explained that thermal imaging technology can detect hotspots, loose connections, overloaded circuits and deteriorating insulation before they develop into major failures.

According to ASEC, adopting routine predictive maintenance programmes would significantly reduce equipment fires and unexpected power outages.

The organisation also recommended the installation of modern fire detection and automatic suppression systems at all critical transmission facilities.

It said these should include early smoke and heat detection technologies, automatic sprinkler systems, intelligent fire zoning and remote monitoring capabilities.

"A modern substation should be capable of detecting and suppressing a fire within seconds of ignition, thereby minimising equipment damage and service disruptions," ASEC said.

ASEC expressed concern over one of the investigation's key findings, which showed that after one transformer tripped at approximately 311 amps, a second transformer continued supplying power to the fault because its protection settings were configured to trip at a higher threshold.

The organisation said this pointed to possible weaknesses in protection coordination and Short Circuit Coordination Studies (SCCS).

It recommended a comprehensive review of protection philosophies, relay settings and fault coordination studies across the national transmission network.

"No transmission system should allow a fault to continue feeding unchecked due to inadequate protection coordination," ASEC stated.

ASEC further called for stronger redundancy measures across Ghana's critical electricity infrastructure, warning that the lack of backup systems can turn localised faults into national emergencies.

It urged GRIDCo and other stakeholders to prioritise redundant protection and control systems, backup communication networks, secondary power supplies, alternative control centres and additional transmission pathways where feasible.

The organisation stressed that future infrastructure upgrades should always include clearly defined redundancy strategies capable of maintaining system stability during maintenance or emergencies.

ASEC also advocated moving away from reactive maintenance practices towards predictive maintenance supported by modern technologies such as artificial intelligence, condition monitoring systems, online partial discharge monitoring, thermal imaging analytics and asset health management platforms.

It said these technologies would enable operators to identify potential failures before they result in service interruptions or major equipment losses.

ASEC said the successful restoration of the electricity supply by engineers following the incident deserved recognition, but insisted that the sector must use the experience to modernise its operations.

"The lessons from Akosombo are clear. We must move beyond reactive maintenance and embrace predictive technologies."

"We must improve protection coordination, strengthen fire suppression capabilities, and introduce robust redundancy across the grid. The reliability of Ghana's power system depends on it," the organisation said.

ASEC added that it stands ready to work with the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, GRIDCo, ECG, VRA, Ghana Gas, regulators and development partners to implement the reforms needed to build "a safer, more resilient, and future-ready power sector."