The GCC Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) is set to invest $420m by 2019 to boost the trade of electricity between the GCC countries.

Speaking at a conference in Abu Dhabi on 28 September, Ahmed al-Ebrahim, chief operating officer for GCCIA, revealed that the expansion is due to consumption in the region increasing by 6 to 10 per cent a year.

Since 2009, up to 800,000MW/hours of electricity has been transmitted through the GCCIA grid, which cost $1.4bn to build. The current total capacity of the grid is up to 1,200MW, which is the maximum transferrable power at one time.

Demand for electricity in the GCC continues to grow at rapid pace, with MEED Insight estimating that generating capacity in the region will have to rise by 171,740MW to reach 332,935MW by 2020, more than double the current installed capacity of 161,195MW.