Emmanuel Mensah
President John Dramani Mahama has assured Ghanaians that the recent intermittent power outages being experienced across parts of the country are the result of ongoing system upgrades and not a return to the prolonged electricity crisis popularly known as “dumsor.”
His remarks come amid growing public concern over erratic power supply, with some residents fearing a relapse into the disruptions that previously affected homes and businesses nationwide.
Speaking during an inspection visit to the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) as part of his “Resetting Ghana” tour, the President explained that the outages are tied to a nationwide effort to improve electricity distribution infrastructure and ensure long-term reliability.
According to him, government has procured about 2,500 transformers under the first phase of a broader intervention aimed at replacing ageing and overloaded equipment across the country.
“The outages you are facing are not dumsor. It is to enable you to get better quality and stable power,” President Mahama stated, adding that affected communities would be duly informed ahead of any planned interruptions.
He noted that many transformers currently in use have become inadequate due to rapid population growth and expanding communities, citing instances where equipment installed decades ago can no longer meet rising demand.
The President expressed optimism that the ongoing upgrades would significantly stabilise power supply once completed, stressing that the exercise would be carried out in phases to sustain improvements in service delivery.
He also welcomed the increasing local production of transformers, describing it as a major step towards building domestic capacity within the energy sector.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Abdulai Jinapor, disclosed that the rollout of the new transformers has already begun in several parts of the country, including Tamale, Accra and Tema, with further installations scheduled for Kumasi and other regions.
He explained that the exercise is aimed at addressing overloaded transformers, reducing outages and improving overall system stability.
Dr Jinapor further indicated that the first phase of the programme is expected to run for three months, after which it will transition into medium- and long-term targets.
He appealed to the public to remain patient during the upgrade works, assuring that customers would be notified in advance of planned outages.
Both NEDCo and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have also been urged to improve their responsiveness to customer complaints, with the President stressing the need for quicker fault resolution and better communication with consumers.
The interventions form part of a broader government strategy to modernise Ghana’s electricity distribution network, enhance reliability and prevent a recurrence of past power supply challenges.
Philemon Adiebuga
