KHOBAR, July 15, SPA -- The power grids of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain will be linked later this month, according to the body overseeing interconnection. Gulf Arab countries hope the $1.4 billion power connection project will help them meet rapidly rising power demand and avoid power outages. The United Arab Emirates would hook up to the grid in 2011, the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) said in a press statement. That would be a year later than previously expected. Oman was also expected to join the project. Representatives of five of the six countries signed a power trading agreement recently in Saudi Arabia. Oman has yet to sign but would do so later, Yousuf Janahi, chairman of the GCCIA said. --MORE
