Frequent power trips alarming; urgent measures needed to prevent nationwide blackouts – Ben Boakye
Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Ben Boakye, has raised concerns over the increasing frequency of nationwide power outages, warning that urgent measures are needed to prevent repeated disruptions to Ghana’s electricity supply.
Ghana's electricity system is facing an alarming number of frequent power outages, prompting urgent action to prevent nationwide blackouts, according to Ben Boakye, Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy. The most recent outage, caused by a fault around the Akosombo transmission line, has highlighted the country's vulnerability in its power grid.
While power trips are not uncommon in advanced electricity systems, the frequency in Ghana is particularly concerning. Boakye attributes the frequent outages to the vulnerabilities in the country's transmission network, particularly around the Akosombo infrastructure. The transmission lines, operating at 161kV and 330kV, could lead to cascading failures when one experiences a fault.
If the higher-voltage 330kV line fails, the additional load on the 161kV line could cause further disruptions and potentially a nationwide blackout. Boakye also pointed to inadequate protection at the Akosombo switchyard, stating that quick isolation of generation plants is necessary to prevent the entire power system from collapsing.
In addition to immediate measures, Boakye advocates for strengthening and expanding Ghana's transmission infrastructure. He suggests a more resilient and looped transmission network could reduce the risk of a single fault triggering a nationwide outage. Boakye urges authorities to investigate the underlying causes of the repeated 330kV line trips and develop comprehensive solutions.
Written by urgent.news from MyJoyOnline Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
