Ghana's grid company promises Kumasi better power by December, as a line upgrade nears the end
GRIDCo says a line into Kumasi is being lifted from about 360 MW to 1,000 MW and a fifth feeder is being added for the distributor. Residents should expect short, local outages until the work is done.
In 30 seconds
- GRIDCo's chief executive, Frank Asirifi Otchere, says supply in Kumasi and northern Ghana should improve by December.
- The Anwomaso line into Kumasi is being upgraded from about 360 MW to 1,000 MW, with completion expected by the end of November.
- A new 145 MVA transformer at the Ridge substation needs a fifth feeder, which will add about 80 MW to the Kumasi network, GNA reported.
- ECG warned that outages may still occur while the work continues.
Ghana's transmission company says people in Kumasi and the north of the country should see steadier electricity by December, once work on lines and substations around the city is finished.
GRIDCo's chief executive, Frank Asirifi Otchere, gave the assurance to the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, the Ghana News Agency and Energy News Africa reported.
What is being built
The main job is the line that carries power into Kumasi from Anwomaso. It is being upgraded from about 360 MW to 1,000 MW, Energy News Africa reported. GNA put the current capacity at about 364 MW. The old conductor and towers have been taken down, new foundations laid and new towers raised. Engineers are now stringing the new wire on 60 towers, GNA reported. Work is due to finish by the end of November.
At the Ridge substation, GRIDCo has replaced a 66 MVA transformer with a 145 MVA one, in service since June. To use that extra capacity, it is adding a fifth feeder to the four that already supply ECG. That feeder will add about 80 MW to the Kumasi network, GNA reported. Otchere told GNA he expected the work to be done by December.
Outages until then
Ebenezer Ghunney, ECG's director of operations, said outages may still happen while the work goes on. Officials warned of short, local interruptions for about a month. The regional minister said a joint team of GRIDCo, ECG and local officials would give residents real-time updates on outages.
The government made a similar promise of better supply for Kumasi in December 2025, after new generating capacity from AKSA Energy was added at Anwomaso, Energy News Africa noted.
What it means for you
This is a familiar problem in Nigeria too. A city can have power stations producing enough, and still suffer outages because the lines and substations that carry the power into town are too small. Kumasi's fix is not new generation but bigger wires and more feeders. Nigerian readers following TCN's own upgrades can ask the same question of every promise: is the bottleneck the power station, the transmission line, or the DisCo's network?
Words to know
- GRIDCo
- Ghana Grid Company, which runs the high-voltage transmission network, like TCN in Nigeria.
- ECG
- Electricity Company of Ghana, the main distributor in southern Ghana, like a DisCo.
- Feeder
- A line that carries power from a substation to an area of a town.
- MVA
- Megavolt-ampere, the unit used to rate the size of a transformer.
Sources
- Ghana News Agency: GRIDCo to complete 5th feeder in Kumasi by December 2026 (3 Nov 2026)
- Energy News Africa: GRIDCo assures Kumasi and northern Ghana of improved power supply by December (7 Nov 2026)
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