Reuters reported that Qatar has agreed to supply Kuwait with 500 MW of electricity this summer. As per report, the deal comes after a recent visit by Mr Nabil bin Salama Kuwait's Electricity and Water Minister to Qatar.

Officials at the ministry of electricity were not immediately available for comment.

Last week, Mr Bin Salama said that Kuwait plans to sign a deal to import electricity from Qatar to cover possible power shortages until 2010. Kuwait has one of the world's highest per capita power consumption rates and has struggled to keep up with rising demand.

Most Gulf countries strain their national grids to supply peak power demand in the summer and Qatar is one of the few with excess power capacity to sell.

Gulf countries have hooked up the first phase of a regional power grid that they hope will help them meet rising regional power needs.

Links between the grids of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar were being tested ahead of planned start ups during the summer. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar would be linked at a later stage.

(Sourced from Reuters)