Several parts of Ghana were plunged into darkness in the early hours of Thursday, August 20, 2026, following a widespread power outage that disrupted electricity supply to households, businesses and essential services across multiple regions.
In the Greater Accra Region, communities including Dansoman, Adabraka, Weija, Tesano, Achimota, Dzorwulu, Legon, Madina, Adenta and Oyarifa were among areas affected. Residents in some of the communities reported losing power from about 4:15 a.m.
The disruption was also reported in Aburi in the Eastern Region, Tamale in the Northern Region, as well as parts of the Central and Ashanti regions.
As of the time of reporting, the specific cause of the widespread outage had not been publicly established. The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and other power sector agencies had yet to provide a detailed explanation of what triggered the disruption or give a definite timeline for full restoration.
The latest incident comes amid a series of planned and emergency maintenance activities being undertaken by ECG in different parts of the country.
For Thursday, August 20, ECG had scheduled planned maintenance works in parts of the Central and Eastern regions. The utility had also announced emergency maintenance affecting sections of the Volta Region, including communities in the Adaklu area and the Ketu North/Dzodze belt, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
However, the early-morning nationwide disruption affected areas beyond those listed under the scheduled maintenance exercises.
Thursday’s outage is the second major widespread disruption reported in less than a month. A similar incident occurred on July 29, 2026, affecting parts of Accra, Tema, Kasoa, Ashanti and the Eastern regions.
The recurrence of the outages is expected to renew concerns about the stability of Ghana’s power supply system and the reliability of electricity distribution, particularly for businesses and institutions that depend heavily on uninterrupted power.
Consumers are now awaiting further updates from ECG, the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) and other relevant authorities on the cause of the latest disruption and when power supply will be fully restored to all affected communities.
Story By: Eric Boateng
