IES demands release of July 29 blackout report after latest nationwide outage

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The Institute for Energy Security (IES) is calling on the government and the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) to release the findings of the technical investigation into the nationwide power outage recorded on July 29, 2026.Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Thursday, August 20, the Senior Research and Policy Analyst at IES, Derrick Xatse, said the report is important in helping Ghanaians understand what caused the blackout and what measures have been adopted to prevent a recurrence.On July 29, several generating plants reportedly tripped off, resulting in disturbances across the national power system and a nationwide blackout.Mr Xatse said GRIDCo subsequently announced plans to conduct a technical investigation into the incident, with the aim of identifying the cause and informing corrective measures.However, he noted that nearly three weeks after the incident, the findings of the investigation had not been made public.“We have not sighted any report of that, so I’m not sure the media has also sighted any report of that,” he said.His comments come after another nationwide power outage in the early hours of Thursday, August 20, 2026.According to GRIDCo, the latest outage was triggered by a major fault on the Akosombo–Volta transmission line.Mr Xatse said the recurrence of a nationwide outage before the findings of the earlier investigation had been released raises questions about the resilience of the country’s power system.He said the “government must disclose the July 29 report if it is ready and provide information on the specific measures being implemented to address vulnerabilities identified in the system.”The IES also wants the Energy Ministry and GRIDCo to outline additional measures to ensure the temporary arrangements being used to maintain power supply do not expose the national grid to further disruptions.Mr Xatse said reliable electricity is essential for households and businesses to plan their daily activities, stressing the need for greater transparency and urgent action to prevent repeated nationwide blackouts.