Akosombo substation fire preventable, says energy expert

The fire that damaged a critical transmission substation near the Akosombo Dam last week was entirely preventable and highlights years of negligence in Ghana’s power sector, the Executive Director of the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Ben Boakye, has said.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, Boakye described the April 23 incident at the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) substation as a direct consequence of weak accountability and insufficient investment in ageing infrastructure.

“It never should have happened,” Boakye said. “I have been grieving about that situation since last week.”

He pointed out that while generation assets such as turbines have been retrofitted and upgraded over the years, the switchyard and control systems — some dating back to the 1960s — have been neglected. That substation is responsible for distributing power from the dam to homes across the country.

“We did not pay attention to the switchyard that carries the load to our homes,” he said.

Boakye contrasted the Akosombo facility with newer substations such as those at Pokuase and Kasoa, which he said are equipped with thermal cameras, automated shutdown mechanisms, and modern fire suppression technology.

“These are not expensive things,” he argued. “Yet we are relying on basic manual response instead of automated protection.”

He further blamed what he called a defective accountability system in the energy sector for repeated failures, warning that such lapses carry long-term financial consequences for the country.

“Basic things don’t get done, and when they don’t get done, they cost all of us billions of dollars,” Boakye said.

GRIDCo has since restored power from the Akosombo substation, but Boakye maintained that the incident should serve as a wake-up call for urgent investment in transmission infrastructure and fire prevention systems.