GCC INTERCONNECTION AUTHORITY
The GCC Interconnection Authority is the body charged with keeping the lights on across the Middle East ’ s leading economies : we spoke to its CEO Ahmed Ali Al Ebrahim about the authority ’ s strategic role and some of its successes to date
It was on 31 December 2001 that the six GCC Countries ( Saudi Arabia , the United Arab Emirates , Qatar , Bahrain , Kuwait and Oman ) agreed to establish the GCC Interconnection Authority ( GCCIA ) for the purpose of interlinking their power systems .
The authority had the backing of GCC leaders and the support of electricity and energy ministers . Though the shareholdings vary , each country has equal representation on the GCCIA board , with the chairmanship rotating every three years , so that no single country drives this initiative . Today the interconnector links the transmission networks of the member states on one unified super grid that spans around 1,200 kilometres of overhead lines and submarine cables .
By 2004 the tender documents for the project had been prepared for Phase 1 of the project connecting Bahrain , Kuwait , Saudi Arabia and Qatar . In 2005 , a contract was awarded to the Canadian firm SNC-Lavalin to supervise number of projects . These included the construction of six ABB 400 kV gas insulated high efficiency substations , a high voltage direct current ( HVDC ) converter station , the installation