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Biden-Harris Administration Invests $2.7 Billion to Improve and Expand Rural Electric Infrastructure

City
NASHVILLE
Release Date

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 30, 2023 - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the Department is investing $2.7 billion to help 64 electric cooperatives and utilities expand and modernize the nation’s rural electric grid and increase grid security.

“These critical investments will benefit rural people and businesses in many ways for decades to come,” Vilsack said. “This funding will help rural cooperatives and utilities invest in changes that make our energy more efficient, more reliable, and more affordable.  Investing in infrastructure roads, bridges, broadband and energy supports good-paying jobs and keeps the United States poised to lead the global economy.”

Background:

USDA is investing in 64 projects through the Electric Loan Program. This funding will benefit nearly 2 million rural people and businesses in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

The loans include $613 million to help rural utilities and cooperatives install and upgrade smart grid technologies. Smart grid can be a catalyst for broadband and other telecommunications services in unserved and underserved rural areas in addition to improving grid security and reliability.

Nearly half of the awards will help finance infrastructure improvements in underserved communities.

In Tennessee:

  • The French Broad Electric Membership Corporation is receiving a $45 million loan to connect 4,138 consumers and build and improve 373 miles of line. This loan includes $1,911,500 in smart grid technologies. French Broad EMC is headquartered in Marshall, North Carolina, and serving an average 39,513 consumers through 6,764 miles of line through four counties in western North Carolina and two counties in Eastern Tennessee.  

 

  • The Gibson Electric Membership Corporation is receiving a $81 million loan to connect 2,462 consumers and build and improve 900 miles of line. This loan includes $51,277,200 for various smart grid technologies, including 1,698 miles of fiber backbone communication network. Gibson EMC is headquartered in Trenton, Tennessee serving 38,912 customers over 3,557 miles in Crockett, Dyer, Gibson, Lauderdale, Haywood, Lake, Madison and Obion counties in Tennessee and part of Carlisle, Hickman, Fulton, and Graves counties in Kentucky. 

In the coming months, USDA will announce additional energy infrastructure financing. The Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act provided more than $12 billion to USDA for loans and grants to expand clean energy, transform rural power production, create jobs and spur economic growth. This funding will help make energy cleaner, more reliable and more affordable.

USDA’s Electric Loan Program can help finance wind, solar and natural gas plants, as well as improvements to produce cleaner energy from coal-fired plants. Local utilities also use the loans to invest in infrastructure to deliver affordable power to millions of residential, commercial and agricultural consumers.

Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans 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, Tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.   

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, promoting competition and fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.

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