The Ministry of Energy and Green Transition has cautioned against rushing efforts to restore electricity following a major power system disturbance that affected parts of the country, stressing that safety considerations remain critical to preventing a wider collapse of the national grid. 

The update follows an announcement by GRIDCo that Ghana’s National Interconnected Transmission System experienced a major power system disturbance at about 3:11 AM on Wednesday, July 29, resulting in the tripping of several generating plants and interruptions in electricity supply. 

Speaking to Class News, Spokesperson to the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Richmond Rockson, said engineers from the Ghana Grid Company Limited  are working around the clock to reconnect affected customers but the restoration process must be handled carefully and systematically.

According to him, several areas have already had power restored while other communities are still awaiting reconnection as engineers continue with the phased restoration exercise.

“The power restoration is a process, a very technical process. We are very conscious when it comes to the attempt to restore power because we do not want to compromise the safety of the power infrastructure,” Mr Rockson explained.

He noted that moving too quickly without proper checks could create a bigger challenge for the country’s electricity system including the risk of a complete system collapse.

“Power restoration is being done in phases. If you are not careful and you compromise safety with speed, you can create a bigger problem than what the problem is now,” he added.

Mr Rockson explained that electricity supply moves through a number of stages, from generation to transmission, bulk supply points and substations before reaching homes and businesses, adding that disruptions at any of these points can affect communities.

He assured customers who are still without electricity that efforts are ongoing to restore supply but declined to give a specific timeline for when all affected areas will be reconnected.

GRIDCo has since activated its restoration procedures and commenced investigations to determine the exact cause of the disturbance.