Ghana is facing a nationwide blackout due to a severe shortage of gas, crippling the country’s power generation capabilities, as reported by the BBC.

The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) has revealed that the situation has resulted in a “550MW supply gap at peak times” at the Tema power plant, situated near the capital city, Accra.

Ghana is currently grappling with its most substantial economic downturn in recent memory, and while power outages have been a recurring issue, this outage stands as the most severe in the past two years.

A June 2023 study painted a grim picture, describing the nation’s energy supply as “critically unstable, edging towards a power crisis.” The Center for Socioeconomic Studies (CSS) study pointed out that the nation’s financial troubles have exacerbated the power situation and may worsen in the coming years.

In July 2023, independent power producers in Ghana threatened to halt operations due to unpaid debts from the state-owned Electricity Company of Ghana. GRIDCo, the power company, disclosed that the “limited gas supply” at the Tema power plant would result in reduced energy supplies to certain areas of the country. The company did not provide information on the cause of the gas supply disruption or the expected duration of the shortage.

Ghana has endured recurrent power outages, locally known as “dumsor,” meaning “on and off” in the Akan language, for several years. The majority of the country’s electricity is sourced from thermal and hydropower, but many of these facilities are inadequately maintained.