Energy expert Donald Mashal has called for improved technical training for engineers and increased investment in maintenance following the nationwide power outage that affected Ghana in the early hours of Wednesday.
The blackout, which plunged millions of homes and businesses into darkness, sparked widespread public frustration, with many questioning the reliability of the country’s power infrastructure. Some consumers also criticised the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) for failing to issue timely communication before and after the outage.
Reacting to the incident, Mr. Mashal said the outage highlights the urgent need for continuous capacity building for engineers in the energy sector to enable them to identify and address faults before they escalate into major system failures.
“There must be special training for engineers in the energy sector so they can constantly monitor the systems and prevent such incidents. We need a strong maintenance culture. Engineers must be equipped to understand what is happening on the power plants at all times so they can detect faults early and resolve them before they affect the entire system,” he said.
He further urged the government and stakeholders to prioritise investment in the maintenance of power generation and transmission infrastructure to improve the reliability of electricity supply and reduce the frequency of nationwide outages.
Mr. Mashal also appealed to Ghanaians to exercise patience with ECG and GRIDCo while investigations continue into the cause of the blackout.
“As it stands now, this appears to be a technical problem. We should allow the engineers to complete their investigations so the exact cause can be established,” he added.
ECG and GRIDCo are yet to issue a comprehensive report detailing the cause of the nationwide power outage.
Story Ama Frimpomaa