Gulf Arab states cooperate to ease power crunch -- link grids

[phantom power]

DUBAI (Reuters) - Gulf countries have taken a step towards easing a regional power crunch and supplying the flow of electricity needed by their increasingly affluent societies by linking up their grids.

Economic growth has strained the infrastructure of the world's largest oil exporters, and left them struggling to supply enough power. The downturn has slowed growth, but power supplies remain tight.

"It's an extremely important milestone for power security," said Johannes Benigni, managing director at Vienna-based consultancy JBC Energy. "Especially when the market is short, this is very powerful."

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/reuters/2009/07/16/2009-07-16T092755Z_01_LG375021_RTRIDST_0_GULF-POWER-GRID-ANALYSIS-GRAPHIC.html