The Africa Sustainable Energy Centre has raised concerns about the reliability of Ghana electricity supply, arguing that recent prolonged outages in the Ashanti Region may point to deeper generation and system management challenges beyond ongoing transmission upgrades.
In an analysis titled Under the Cover of Upgrades: Low Capacity Margins Threaten Ghana's Electricity Supply, the Centre questioned the decision to impose daily eight hour outages across parts of Kumasi and the Ashanti Region for about a month.
The Electricity Company of Ghana has attributed the interruptions, running from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on affected days, to work on the 161kV Anwomaso Ahodwo transmission line.
But Dr Elvis Twumasi, Director of Research and Innovation at the Centre, argues that the scale and duration of the outages deserve closer scrutiny.
“The recent announcement by the Electricity Company of Ghana of a month long, daily eight hour power outage across parts of Kumasi and the Ashanti Region is not just an inconvenience.” - Dr Elvis Twumasi
Centre Questions Transmission Upgrade Explanation
According to the Centre, conductor stringing is a routine part of transmission construction and should ordinarily be managed with targeted outages and contingency arrangements.
It argues that modern utilities can use temporary bypass systems and other maintenance techniques to minimise disruptions while major work is carried out.
The Centre also noted that electricity rationing had already been experienced in parts of the region before the latest stringing exercise was announced.
For Dr Twumasi, this raises the possibility that transmission work is only part of the problem.
He said the economic cost of prolonged daytime outages could be substantial, particularly for businesses that depend on uninterrupted electricity.
Small scale artisans, cold store operators, barbers, hospitals, universities and offices could all face higher costs if they are forced to rely on diesel generators for several hours each day.
Households may also struggle with food preservation, water supply and other basic services during extended outages.
Capacity Margin Comes Under Scrutiny
The Centre's bigger concern is the gap between Ghana's electricity demand and available generation.
It cited a total dependable generation capacity of about 4,968 megawatts and said peak demand had reached roughly 4,350 megawatts around April 2026.
That leaves a relatively narrow margin on paper.
Dr Twumasi cautioned that dependable capacity should not be confused with electricity that is actually available at every moment.
Plant maintenance, forced outages, fuel shortages and other technical limitations can reduce how much generation is available to the grid.
“How much generation capacity is actually available to meet demand today?” the Centre asked.
The analysis argues that the answer becomes more important as Ghana approaches the festive season, when electricity demand could rise further.
A system operating with a narrow reserve margin has less flexibility when a generating unit fails or fuel supply becomes constrained.
Businesses Could Bear Higher Costs
The Centre warned that prolonged outages could damage productivity across the Ashanti Region.
Businesses relying on generators face higher fuel and maintenance expenses, while cold storage operators risk losing products when backup power is unavailable or too expensive.
The analysis also criticised what it described as overreliance on short term measures such as emergency fuel purchases.
According to Dr Twumasi, securing fuel can prevent immediate supply shortfalls but does not address wider weaknesses in generation, transmission planning and utility finances.
“Papering over cracks with short term fuel purchases does nothing to fix a weak foundation,” he argued.
Call for Greater Transparency
The Africa Sustainable Energy Centre is calling for greater transparency from electricity sector managers on the causes of the current outages and the amount of generation actually available to serve demand.
It maintains that infrastructure upgrades remain necessary but should not automatically justify prolonged disruption to economic activity.
“Upgrading the grid is necessary, but doing so by bringing a region's daily life to a halt is unacceptable,” Dr Twumasi said.
The Centre wants utilities to adopt stronger contingency planning and modern project management practices when carrying out network upgrades.
Its argument is that Ghana's electricity debate should go beyond the immediate transmission project and examine whether the country has enough dependable and genuinely available generation to withstand rising demand and unexpected plant outages.
With peak demand moving closer to stated dependable capacity, the Centre says that question can no longer be treated as secondary.
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