Talensi District residents protest frequent blackouts and refuse electricity payments

Residents of the Talensi District in the Upper East Region have begun refusing to pay electricity bills following five months of frequent blackouts. The outages reportedly occur whenever it rains or when rain is imminent, causing significant disruption to local businesses, such as cold-store operators who face the loss of perishable goods.

On August 24, 2026, tensions escalated when officials from the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) attempted to disconnect households and businesses due to unpaid debts. Residents resisted these attempts and besieged the Talensi District Assembly.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Talensi Constituency has issued a one-week ultimatum to NEDCo and the government to explain the persistent outages and provide a timeline for a permanent solution. The party noted that the outages have become so predictable that residents often rush to charge essential devices at the first sign of rain.