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Trump Administration Invests $3.1 Billion in Rural Electric Infrastructure; Highlights Record Investments in FY 2020

Name
Deborah Callahan
Phone
City
ATHENS, Ga.,
Release Date

ATHENS, GA., Oct. 22, 2020 – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing an additional $3.1 billion to build or improve rural electric infrastructure in 25 states, and he highlighted a record level of funding for fiscal year (FY) 2020 to upgrade infrastructure.

 

Background:

 

USDA is investing in 53 projects through the Electric Loan Program. This funding will benefit 1.4 million rural residents and businesses in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.

 

Below are summaries of how the funds will be used in Georgia:
 

  • Georgia Transmission Corp. will use a $114.2 million loan to finance transmission system improvements to ensure greater reliability of service to its member loads in rural communities. Georgia Transmission Corp. is a transmission cooperative headquartered in Tucker, Ga. It serves 38 electric cooperatives that provide power to residential and commercial consumers throughout Georgia.
     
  • Hart Electric Membership Corp. will use a $38.6 million loan to connect 3,748 consumers and build and improve 272 miles of line. Hart EMC, headquartered in Hartwell, Ga, serves an average of 36,663 members through 4,903 miles of line in Banks, Elbert, Franklin, Hart, Madison and Stephens counties.
     
  • Canoochee Electric Membership Corp. will use a $36.2 million loan to connect 1,613 consumers and build and improve 56 miles of line. This loan includes $4,572,120 in smart grid technologies. Canoochee, headquartered in Reidsville, serves an average of 22,134 members over 2,614 miles of line throughout nine counties in southeastern Georgia.
     
  • Carroll Electric Membership Corp. will use a $22 million loan to connect 1,547 consumers and build and improve 236 miles of line. Carroll EMC, headquartered in Carrollton, serves an average of 51,760 members over 5,475 miles of line in all or part of seven counties in western Georgia.
     
  • Planters Electric Membership Corp. will use a $17.6 million loan to connect 1,323 consumers and build and improve 430 miles of line. This loan includes $1,107,577 in smart grid technologies. Planters EMC, headquartered in Millen, serves an average of 17,000 members through 3,166 miles of line in Burke, Jenkins, Screven, Bulloch, Effingham, Emanuel and Richmond counties.
     
    Today’s announcement is part of a record level of USDA electric infrastructure investments in one fiscal year. The department  invested $6.3 billion in the Electric Loan Program in FY 2020, up from $5.8 billion in 2019 – also a record. USDA made loans to 119 utilities in 34 states across the country during FY 2020, which ended on September 30. Those figures build upon the $3.7 billion invested in 2018.
     
    Helping improve rural electric infrastructure is a significant part of the Trump administration’s “all-of-the-above” energy strategy. USDA’s Electric Program helps finance wind, solar and natural gas plants, as well as improvements to produce clean energy from coal-fired plants. Local utilities also use the loans to invest in infrastructure to deliver affordable power to thousands of residential, commercial and agricultural consumers.
     
    Twenty-one of the loans that USDA awarded in FY 2020, representing almost 10 percent of total loan volume by dollar, will help expand smart grid technologies. Smart grid can be a catalyst for broadband and other telecommunications services in unserved and underserved rural areas. These loans will finance nearly 23,000 new line-miles of smart grid fiber when buildout is complete.
     
    Rural electric cooperatives and utilities are increasing their internal communications capabilities to improve the reliability and efficiency of the electric grid. This added communications capacity helps cooperatives and their partners expand broadband coverage as they leverage these USDA smart grid investments.
     
    In addition, this year, USDA has made it easier for rural electric utilities and cooperatives to use Electric Program loans for vegetation management programs to prevent and control wildfires.
     
    During FY 2020, USDA also approved nearly $104 million in loans for 11 energy efficiency programs under the Rural Energy Savings Program and $11.7 million in High Energy Cost Grants to rural communities and villages in Alaska to lower the cost of energy consumption and upgrade aging generation systems.
     
    Some Electric Program loans are specifically targeted to support the administration’s actions to spur economic development in areas where poverty rates have been stubbornly high for decades.
     
    To learn more about electric infrastructure and other investment resources for rural areas, interested parties should contact their USDA Rural Development state office.
     
    USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.
     
    If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.