Rural Power Systems Get Money Boost

May 2, 2000

USDA has awarded $354.4 million in loans to help improve electrical service in rural areas. More than $1 billion has been loaned to help provide new or improved electric service to more than 149,000 rural residents. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman announced the latest loans at a ceremony celebrating the 65^th anniversary of the signing of the Rural Electrification Act.

In the 65 years since USDA’s rural electric program was begun, it has invested more than $56 billion to bring electricity to rural areas, Glickman said. "The challenge for the 21^st century is to ensure than America’s rural utility infrastructure keeps pace with increasing demand of rural power users."

The new loans announced Monday went to Alabama Electric Cooperative Inc., $269.9 million; South Mississippi Electric Power Association, $58.6 million, and Blue Grass Energy Cooperative Corporation, $25.8 million.

Nearly half of all electric lines in the United States were financed by the Rural Electrification Administration and its successor agency, the Rural Utilities Service. RUS is involved heavily in financing modern digital telecommunications systems and other infrastructure necessary to provide digital communications to rural areas and safe drinking water and environmentally sound wastewater systems.