Ghana hit by nationwide blackout as power plants fail

A fault in Ghana’s national power grid triggered widespread outages early Wednesday, leaving the capital Accra, the commercial hub of Kumasi and much of the northern region without electricity. According to the state‑run power authority, several generating stations across the West African pool were forced to shut down in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) said its engineers and system operators are working continuously to restore power as quickly as possible without compromising safety. Ghana has endured recurring power shortages, locally known as “dumsor” (meaning “on and off”), although the situation had been improving in recent years. The outage disrupted homes, businesses and essential services across multiple regions. Commuters reported difficulties reaching work; uncharged phones hindered payment for transport and the use of app‑based taxi services such as Uber. Small businesses and those dependent on digital services were affected, while larger institutions such as hospitals relied on backup generators to maintain operations. GRIDCo announced it is conducting a broad technical investigation to determine the cause of the failure and has not yet provided an estimate for when normal supply will resume. Ghana, one of the world’s leading producers of gold and cocoa, has increasingly turned to state‑supported energy generation to meet rising demand driven by population growth and urbanisation. The bulk of the country’s electricity comes from ageing hydropower plants that have suffered from inadequate maintenance over the years. Although recent additions to the generation mix have eased the frequency of cuts, the grid remains vulnerable to transmission disruptions and fuel‑supply interruptions.