Re-operating large dams to benefit all -- experiences from Akosombo and Kpong dams in Ghana

- Large dams affect upstream and downstream ecosystems and livelihoods - Dam reoperation can in principle reintroduce a near natural flow regime while increasing overall annual hydropower production but it requires significant adjustments elsewhere to cope with the seasonal variability in energy supply - The feasibility of reoperating a dam is therefore dependent on a balance of trade-offs between technical, economic and social benefits and challenges - For the Akosombo and Kpong dams, reoperation is not economically and socially feasible, it is therefore more cost effective to focus instead on improving alternative livelihood sources