Ghana has been experiencing severe power outages in recent weeks.

On April 23, 2026, the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) confirmed in an official statement that a major fire at an electricity substation within the Akosombo Dam complex caused widespread and immediate disruptions to the national grid.

This incident reportedly knocked out an estimated 720 to 1,000 megawatts from the national supply, creating an immediate deficit of about 1,000 MW, approximately one-fifth of Ghana’s average peak demand.

Government communications have attributed the power crisis to the substation fire, as well as the nationwide deployment of 2,500 new transformers and faults in underground cable systems.

However, the interconnected nature of these incidents has fueled public suspicions, with some suggesting possible political sabotage.

Amid the controversy, the Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, announced in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on April 26, that the CEO of GRIDCo, Mark Awuah Baah has been asked to “step aside” pending investigation into the Akosombo substation fire.

“The Minister for Energy and Green Transition has asked the CEO of GRIDCo to step aside pending investigations into the fire incident at Akosombo power control center. Also, there has been a major shakeup in the leadership of the ECG in the Ashanti Region” the post read.

Claim one: Was Ing. Mark Awuah Baah appointed under the Akufo-Addo administration and retained by President Mahama?

Conspiracies are building up claiming that the suspended GRIDCo CEO, Mark Awuah Baah, was appointed by the Akufo-Addo government, and subsequently retained by the John Mahama administration.

The conspiracies aim to advance the narrative that recent power cuts are a sabotage activity from insiders at the Grid Company and the Electricity Company of Ghana, especially from staff and management from the previous administration.

Many of such claims include social media commentaries in TikTok videos, Facebook and X posts.

Such include a post a social media user named MP Kwarteng with over 2.k views that claimed Mark Awuah Baah was retained due to the “Father for All” nature of the NDC.

“Ing. Mark Awuah Baah has been suspended by the energy minister. He was appointed by Akufo-Addo as CEO of GRIDCo in July 2021. NDC allowed him to remain in office until GRIDCo sabotage began. ‘Father For All’ is the bane of the NDC. Politics is not a Christian association” the post read.

Claim two: Was Ing. Mark Awuah Baah the NPP National Organizer for eight years?

Others also claim Ing. Mark Awuah Baah has strong ties with the previous government; the New Patriotic Party and even held a party position as National Organizer of the party.

A purported news handle on X (formerly Twitter) ghchronicles among many others advancing the claims, with a screenshot of a searched interface with the result that “He was National Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for eight years”.

The post claimed the power cuts are effects of politics, because the suspended Chief Executive “as usual, he was playing politics with our electricity”.

“Right after Mahama was sworn in, NDC supporters were calling for his removal because he is a well-known NPP sympathiser who has even held party positions at the regional level. As usual, he was playing politics with our electricity” the post read., 

What the facts say…

Following the retirement of Jonathan Baah as Chief Executive Officer, the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), on 27^rd July, 2021, appointed Ing. Mark Awuah Baah as its Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Barely twenty days later, the Board of GRIDCo confirmed Mr. Ebenezer Essienyi as Chief Executive of the company on 12^th August 2021 following his nomination by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Mr. Ebenezer Essienyi remained Chief Executive Officer till January 2025.

The 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 annual reports of the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) confirm Mr Ebenezer Essienyi remained the Chief Executive Office as of December 31, 2024.

Ing. Mark Awuah Baah, who was scheduled to retire in June 2025, was again appointed as Acting CEO in February 2025  on extended contract by the current John Mahama administration.

Also, in the 2024 annual report of GRIDCo, Ing. Mark Awuah Baah was still CEO as at August 2025.

Indeed, Ing. Mark Awuah Baah has spent over 28 years in the company, handling different portfolios including Advisor (on the implementation of the Ghana Wholesale Electricity Market) to the Chief Executive and Director, Corporate Strategy and Director, Southern Network Department before his CEO position in 2021 and 2025.

Conspiracies that Mark Awuah Baah since his first acting CEO appointment in 2021 by the Akufo-Addo administration had remained in office and retained by the current government are INACCURATE.

The current NDC administration made Mark Awuah Baah a CEO, and he has held that position since February 2025.

This has also been confirmed by Richmond Rockson, Head of Communication; Ministry of Energy and Green Transition in a social media post that directly responds to the claims.

“It’s false. He’s an appointee of this government” he wrote.

Is Mark Awuah Baah a member or held any position in the New Patriotic Party?

A widely circulated screenshot shows a search interface grid with a congratulatory communication released by staff of GRIDCO after the short appointment of Ing Baah in 2021, claiming “He was National Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for eight years”.

A reverse image search and extensive open-source investigation of the circular found no credible or verifiable content anywhere on the internet or records of the NPP, establishing any affiliation between Ing. Mark Awuah Baah and the NPP, let alone a claim that he served as National Organiser.

The National Organisers of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) portfolio in the last at least 12 years has been held by Alhaji Moctar Bamba  (before 2014), John Boadu  (2014–2017), Sammi Awuku (2018–2022) and Henry Nana Boakye (Nana B), July 2022 till date.  

VERDICT.

The claim that Ing. Mark Awuah Baah was appointed by the Akufo-Addo government and retained by the current Mahama administration is FALSE.

His brief acting appointment in July 2021 lasted less than three weeks.

The substantive CEO under Akufo-Addo was Mr Ebenezer Essienyi.

Ing. Mark Awuah Baah appointment was made in February 2025 by the John Mahama government.

The claim that Ing. Mark Awuah Baah served as National Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for eight years is FALSE.

Open-source records account for all NPP National Organisers in the past, at least 12 years.

His name does not appear in any of them, and the screenshot circulating online contains no verifiable basis