Ghana’s thermal power plants are expected to be pushed to maximum output to offset a major electricity shortfall caused by the Akosombo substation fire, as the government moves quickly to stabilise the national grid.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, Richmond Rockson, disclosed this on Top Story on Friday, April 24, noting that the country has sufficient fuel reserves to keep thermal plants running during the recovery period.

“I can assure you that we have enough fuel, whether natural gas or liquid fuel, to power the thermal plants,” Rockson told journalists at a briefing.

The move follows Thursday’s fire at the Akosombo substation switchyard, which has been estimated to have taken out between 720 megawatts and 1,000 megawatts of transmission capacity — a significant portion of Ghana’s power supply infrastructure.

With hydro generation from Akosombo affected, authorities say thermal plants will now carry a larger share of the national electricity burden in the short term.

Rockson explained that engineers are working to restore at least one generating unit within 24 hours, after which a phased recovery process will be extended across the remaining units.

Under normal conditions, thermal plants account for about 70 per cent of Ghana’s electricity generation mix, while hydro sources such as Akosombo contribute roughly 20 per cent.

The Energy Ministry and the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) are both investigating the cause of the fire, while emergency restoration works continue at the Akosombo facility.