The Minority in Parliament has dismissed claims that the recent fire at the Akosombo substation caused the current power outages in parts of the country, insisting the problem started earlier.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, the Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Energy Committee, Collins Adomako-Mensah, said the ongoing electricity challenges commonly known as “dumsor” began well before the April 23 incident.
He explained that the power crisis, which many Ghanaians have reportedly faced since January 25, 2025, cannot be blamed on a single event or fault at Akosombo.
“Ghana’s power crisis, the dumsor that millions of Ghanaians have been enduring since January 25, was not caused by any accident at Akosombo. It was caused by this government,” he said.
Mr. Adomako-Mensah further described the April 23 incident as “the latest and most dramatic symptom” of what he called a deteriorating power sector.
“The events of 23rd April are the latest and most dramatic symptom of a power sector left to decay under the NDC’s incompetent stewardship,” he said.
He cautioned against attributing the crisis to the Akosombo incident, arguing that doing so would misrepresent the origins of the problem.
“The Mahama government must not be permitted to use this incident as a convenient alibi for a crisis that predates it by more than a year, and the Minority will not allow that cynical rewriting of history to pass unchallenged,” he added.
The Minority also outlined a timeline of power disruptions, stating that Ghanaians had been experiencing persistent outages well before the substation fire.
“Long before the event of 23rd April 2026, Ghanaians across every region of this country had been enduring persistent, unannounced, and devastating power outages,” he said.
He further noted that the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) had issued multiple emergency and maintenance notices in April, alongside public apologies from its leadership over unstable power supply and damage to electrical appliances.
According to him, the situation had already placed significant strain on households, businesses, and essential services.
“Communities were living in darkness, not for hours, but for days. Industries were haemorrhaging losses. Cold stores were warm. Hospitals were straining on generators,” he stated, adding that “that was the reality of Ghana’s power sector before any incident at Akosombo.
He maintained that these conditions existed before the Akosombo incident and should not be overlooked in assessing the broader energy situation.
