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Kuwait to Buy 500MW of Power Through GCC Interconnection Authority

Kuwaiti Electricity Ministry's acting undersecretary, Haitham Al-Ali, and CEO of the GCC Interconnection Authority, Engineer Ahmed Al-Ebrahim, sign the contracts on Sunday (KUNA)
Kuwaiti Electricity Ministry's acting undersecretary, Haitham Al-Ali, and CEO of the GCC Interconnection Authority, Engineer Ahmed Al-Ebrahim, sign the contracts on Sunday (KUNA)
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Kuwait to Buy 500MW of Power Through GCC Interconnection Authority

Kuwaiti Electricity Ministry's acting undersecretary, Haitham Al-Ali, and CEO of the GCC Interconnection Authority, Engineer Ahmed Al-Ebrahim, sign the contracts on Sunday (KUNA)
Kuwaiti Electricity Ministry's acting undersecretary, Haitham Al-Ali, and CEO of the GCC Interconnection Authority, Engineer Ahmed Al-Ebrahim, sign the contracts on Sunday (KUNA)

Kuwait on Sunday signed contracts to buy 500 megawatts (MW) of electricity through the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) to avoid summer blackouts.
The contracts are for 300 MW from Oman and 200 MW from Qatar, the electricity ministry's acting undersecretary, Haitham Al-Ali, told reporters at the signing event, adding that the contracts would last from June 1 to Aug. 31.
Al-Ali explained that the contracts were signed directly with the Gulf Interconnection Authority, which coordinates these transactions with Oman and Qatar on behalf of Kuwait.
He said this brings technical and economic benefits to Kuwait, especially with the proximity of the offers submitted for energy purchase prices to the cost of production.
The GCC Electricity Interconnection Authority oversees the management of a transmission system that integrates the power grids of all six member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The CEO of the GCC Interconnection Authority, Engineer Ahmed Al-Ebrahim, said in a similar statement that the energy market is one of the most efficient markets in the region.
He noted that the Gulf Electricity Market enables GCC countries to enter into bilateral agreements through a platform, which is responsible for the settlement and billing system that covers the needs of traders.
El-Ebrahim pointed out that the Ministry and the Gulf Interconnection Authority have agreed on the offers submitted for the supply of electric energy to Kuwait during the coming June so that they can be renewed during the coming July and August according to the conditions and needs of interconnected networks from member states.
The State of Kuwait owns 26.7% of the founding shares of the Gulf Interconnection Authority, a joint stock company registered by GCC member states to create an interconnection of power grids between its members, ensure energy supply to the networks of GCC member states, invest and achieve economic benefits in the areas of energy exchange and to diversify the sources of their energy imports.

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S&P Upgrades Italy in Surprise Boost for PM Meloni

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni waits for the arrival of Queen Rania of Jordan at Villa Doria Pamphili in Rome, Italy, 09 April 2025. (EPA)
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni waits for the arrival of Queen Rania of Jordan at Villa Doria Pamphili in Rome, Italy, 09 April 2025. (EPA)
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S&P Upgrades Italy in Surprise Boost for PM Meloni

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni waits for the arrival of Queen Rania of Jordan at Villa Doria Pamphili in Rome, Italy, 09 April 2025. (EPA)
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni waits for the arrival of Queen Rania of Jordan at Villa Doria Pamphili in Rome, Italy, 09 April 2025. (EPA)

Credit ratings agency S&P Global upgraded Italy on Friday in a surprise move just days after Rome halved its economic growth forecast amid global market turmoil and said its huge public debt would rise this year and next.

S&P Global raised Italy's sovereign debt rating to BBB+ from BBB, citing its falling budget deficit, resilient exports and high domestic savings rate, and confidence that the European Central Bank will keep any inflationary pressures in check.

It said the new rating carried a stable outlook.

"The upgrade reflects Italy's improved economic, external, and monetary buffers amid rising global headwinds, and the gradual progress it has made in stabilizing public finances since the (COVID-19) pandemic's onset," S&P Global said.

Earlier this month Fitch affirmed its BBB rating with a positive outlook, while Moody's rates Italy Baa3 with a stable outlook.

S&P's upgrade is a boost for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ahead of a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday expected to focus on US trade tariffs which have hit financial markets worldwide and clouded economic prospects.

S&P Global noted that Italy's net external creditor position had strengthened over the last five years to around 15% of gross domestic product, compared with close to balance just before the pandemic.

"S&P's judgment rewards the seriousness of the Italian government's approach to budget policy," said Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti. "In the general uncertain climate, prudence and responsibility will continue to be our course of action."

The agency had made no change to Italy's rating or outlook since July 2022, when it revised the outlook to stable from positive following the collapse of the government of former Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

STAGNANT ECONOMY

On Wednesday, Italy committed to keeping its budget deficit in check even as it slashed its economic growth forecasts against a backdrop of mounting uncertainty connected to the US trade tariffs.

Yet even before Trump's tariff announcements, the euro zone's third largest economy has posted virtually no growth since mid-2024.

Italian GDP edged up by 0.1% in the fourth quarter of last year from the previous three months after stagnating in the third quarter. No pick-up is expected in the near term.

In its multi-year economic framework issued on Wednesday, the government cut its forecast for 2025 GDP growth to 0.6% from a projection of 1.2% made in September, and lowered its 2026 forecast to 0.8% from 1.1%.

The Treasury confirmed its previous 2025 budget deficit estimate at 3.3% of national output and also confirmed its goal of bringing the fiscal gap below the European Union's 3% of GDP ceiling in 2026, maintaining a 2.8% target.

However, it said the public debt - the second highest in the euro zone after Greece's - would climb from 135.3% of GDP last year to 137.6% by 2026, before edging down marginally the following year.

S&P also forecast Italy's GDP growth at 0.6% this year, in line with Meloni's government, and said the country's rising debt would not stabilize until 2028.

Nonetheless, it said Trump's latest decision to suspend previously announced 20% tariffs on European Union goods for three months, and to impose a milder 10%, meant the hit to Italy's economy would be "manageable".