THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR TIMETABLES. IT IS TIME FOR ECG TO INTRODUCE REDUNDANCY
The Africa Sustainable Energy Centre (ASEC) is urging stakeholders and the general public to shift focus away from calls for load-shedding timetables and instead prioritise resolving the underlying challenges affecting Ghana’s power system, particularly through the urgent introduction of strong redundancy measures.
ASEC notes that while recent outages have led to increasing demands for scheduled power interruptions, introducing a timetable at this stage risks normalising a problem that should be decisively addressed through better planning, coordination, and system design.
The current situation should not be managed with timetables, but rather one that must be resolved at its root. This is not the time to institutionalise outages; it is the time to strengthen the system, especially through robust redundancy that prevents failures from escalating.
The Centre emphasises that the ongoing disruptions are not primarily due to insufficient generation capacity, but rather reflect gaps in operational planning and execution—particularly within the transmission and distribution segments of the power sector. A key weakness identified is the lack of adequate redundancy in critical infrastructure, which leaves the system vulnerable to widespread outages when faults occur or during retrofit activities.
ASEC highlights the critical role of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in stabilising the system. As the primary interface with consumers, ECG must ensure that all ongoing technical interventions, including retrofit works, are executed with built-in redundancy to maintain a continuous supply.
Key areas requiring urgent attention include:
ECG must pause the ongoing retrofits and restore the system back to normalcy
Immediate integration of redundancy in all critical systems to eliminate single points of failure
Strengthening the planning and coordination of the infrastructure upgrade
Ensuring retrofit activities are carried out without compromising supply
Improving system monitoring and operational efficiency
Enhancing communication and engagement with the public
ASEC underscores that reliable power systems are built on resilience, and resilience is achieved through redundancy. Without it, even minor faults can trigger widespread disruptions. If ECG and other stakeholders focus on doing the right things, proper planning, disciplined execution, and, critically, the introduction of redundancy, stability will be achieved, and the need for a timetable will not arise.
The Centre further calls on all sector institutions, including GRIDCo and the Ministry of Energy & Green Transition, to provide strong coordination and oversight to ensure that redundancy planning becomes a standard requirement across all operations and infrastructure upgrades.
ASEC remains committed to supporting Ghana’s energy sector through research, policy advocacy, and technical expertise aimed at building a resilient, reliable, and future-ready power system.
