GRIDCo schedules Kumasi power outages for 161kV line upgrade

Residents in Kumasi and surrounding communities in the Ashanti Region will experience a series of planned power interruptions from October 30 to November 29, 2026. The Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) announced that the outages are necessary to facilitate critical work on the 161kV Anwomaso–Ahodwo Transmission Line Upgrade Project. The infrastructure initiative, which is currently 70 percent complete, is designed to significantly enhance the reliability of the power supply across the region.

According to the utility providers, the interruptions will occur between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on designated days throughout the month-long period. The primary technical requirement for the outages is to ensure the safety of engineering teams during the stringing of transmission conductors, a phase of the upgrade that cannot be safely performed while the lines are energized. To help residents and local businesses plan accordingly, ECG has committed to publishing detailed, location-specific schedules highlighting which areas will be affected on particular days.

Addressing public concerns regarding electricity instability, the ECG has clarified that these scheduled interruptions do not indicate the start of a general load-shedding regime. Benjamin Obeng Antwi, the ECG Ashanti Regional Public Relations Officer, emphasized that a "dumsor" timetable is not required for the region. He explained that while some recent power disruptions were caused by unexpected technical faults, the upcoming month of outages is strictly limited to planned maintenance and the essential completion of the transmission project.

The utility companies have appealed for public cooperation and patience during this final phase of construction. GRIDCo and ECG maintain that the successful completion of the Anwomaso–Ahodwo upgrade is a necessary step toward modernizing the regional grid. Once finalized, the new infrastructure is expected to reduce the frequency of unplanned outages and provide the stable energy distribution required to support the Ashanti Region’s residential and industrial growth.