Several parts of Ghana were plunged into darkness on Thursday morning after a major fault on the Akosombo–Volta transmission line triggered the automatic shutdown of key generating units.
The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) said the fault caused the Akosombo generating units, as well as some thermal plants, to shut down as part of the National Interconnected Transmission System’s protection mechanisms.
According to GRIDCo, the automatic shutdown was necessary to protect the stability and integrity of the national power grid.
The outage began at about 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 20, 2026, affecting households, businesses and essential services across several parts of the country.
In Accra, communities including Adabraka, Weija, Tesano, Achimota, Dzorwulu, Legon, Madina, Adenta and Oyarifa were among those affected. Parts of the Eastern, Northern, Central and Ashanti regions, including Aburi and Tamale, also experienced disruptions.
GRIDCo said its engineers immediately worked with other power-sector agencies to isolate the affected transmission line and begin the restoration of electricity.
Some affected areas have since had their power supply restored, while technical teams continue efforts to reconnect the remaining customers.
“GRIDCo regrets the inconvenience caused by this temporary outage,” the company said, assuring the public that all relevant technical teams had been mobilised to restore the system fully.
Thursday’s outage comes less than a month after another major disruption on July 29, which affected parts of Accra, Tema, Kasoa, Ashanti and Eastern regions.
The recurrence of major outages is likely to heighten concerns about the reliability and stability of Ghana’s power transmission system.
GRIDCo is expected to provide further updates as restoration efforts continue.
