{
  "id": 2542608,
  "title": "Ghana must address root cause of 330kV line trips to avert blackouts – ACEP",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/ghana-must-address-root-cause-of-330kv-line-trips-to-avert-blackouts",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-22T08:42:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
    "slug": "myjoyonline-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/ghana-must-address-root-cause-of-330kv-line-trips-to-avert-blackouts-acep/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Benjamin Boakye, Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), has urged a thorough examination of the persistent disruptions on Ghana's 330kV transmission lines to forestall future power shortages. According to Mr Boakye, while repairing the Akosombo switchyard could prevent a catastrophic system breakdown, it won't tackle the root causes behind the recurring line trips. He made these remarks during an interview on JoyNews following a widespread blackout in various parts of the country on Thursday. GRIDCo identified Thursday's interruption to be caused by a trip in the power transmission lines, marking it as the second significant system failure in August. Mr Boakye clarified that a 330kV line trip can initiate a chain reaction, with heightened demands shifting to smaller lines, ultimately leading to a broader power system failure. He emphasized that the investigation must go beyond averting a complete system collapse and concentrate on pinpointing what causes the high-voltage lines to trip repeatedly. \"You really have to address what's causing the trips on the 330 kV line, because even if you fix a sumo, that prevents a total collapse. But some parts will also collapse if there are consistent trips, so we need to isolate the issues,\" he stated on Saturday, August 22. Mr Boakye indicated that the causes might vary from minor technical glitches to more severe issues related to grounding and earthing systems. \"There could be some minor ones, some could be major, some could be some ground faults, earthing systems. If they do that audit, they should be able to isolate the causes and be able to address them,\" he added. He further advocated for specific investments to guarantee that disturbances on the transmission network do not propagate throughout the entire system. \"Even with one line, if the 330 does not trip, you're not going to have the 16-1 also tripping. So we have to go down to the bottom of the issue, address what causes these trips, and potentially invest in isolating certain power plants immediately. There are these disturbances so that they don't cascade to the entire network and cause a nationwide blackout,\" he concluded. Mr Boakye's remarks follow growing worries over the dependability and resilience of Ghana's power transmission system in light of multiple disruptions in August.",
  "summary": "The Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), Benjamin Boakye, has called for a comprehensive investigation into the recurring trips on Ghana’s 330kV transmission lines to prevent future nationwide power outages.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
        "title": "ACEP warns frequent power trips expose weaknesses in Ghana’s transmission system",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/acep-warns-frequent-power-trips-expose-weaknesses-in-ghanas",
        "published": "2026-08-22T08:58:35.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Adom Online",
        "title": "ACEP warns frequent power trips expose weaknesses in Ghana’s transmission system",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/acep-warns-frequent-power-trips-expose-weaknesses-in-ghanas-2544823",
        "published": "2026-08-22T09:26:09.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}