Current power outages should not be described as ‘Dumsor’ — Hopeson Adorye

The Director of Field Operations for the United Party, Hopeson Adorye, has argued that Ghana’s recent power interruptions should not be classified as “dumsor,” insisting that the current situation differs significantly from the prolonged and predictable outages historically associated with the term.

Speaking on the JoyNews AM Show on Tuesday, April 28, Mr. Adorye explained that the concept of “dumsor”—a term widely used in Ghana to describe persistent and often scheduled power outages—emerged during a period when electricity cuts followed a clear and predictable pattern.

“I cannot say this situation today can be termed as ‘dumsor,’” he stated. “The term came about when outages were predictable—you could tell that by evening the power would go off, and sometimes you would go two or three days without electricity.”

According to him, the current power challenges are more technical in nature and are largely linked to infrastructure limitations within the electricity distribution system. He pointed specifically to ageing and overloaded transformers as a major source of the disruptions being experienced in some communities.

“What we have been told is that most of the transformers are weak and have been overloaded, so they are being replaced,” he explained, highlighting ongoing efforts to upgrade critical components of the power network.

Mr. Adorye noted that such maintenance and replacement activities often require temporary shutdowns of electricity supply, which can result in intermittent outages for affected areas. However, he stressed that these disruptions are part of a necessary process to improve long-term reliability.

“If a transformer in a particular area is being replaced, the power cannot remain on,” he said. “It has to go off before the replacement is done and then be restored afterwards.”

He expressed support for the measures being undertaken by authorities to address the technical challenges, commending what he described as proactive steps by the current government to stabilize the power system.

“I am happy that the current government is doing something about it,” he added, while cautioning the public against mischaracterizing the situation as a return to full-scale “dumsor.”

His comments come at a time of growing public concern over intermittent electricity supply in parts of Ghana, with many citizens questioning whether the country may be slipping back into an era of widespread and prolonged outages.

Despite these concerns, Mr. Adorye maintained that the present situation does not meet the threshold of “dumsor,” emphasizing that the outages are neither as severe nor as predictable as those experienced in previous years. Instead, he suggested that the current interruptions should be viewed as short-term inconveniences tied to infrastructure upgrades aimed at improving the resilience and efficiency of the national power grid.