U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development (USDA-RD) Alaska State Director Jim Nordlund today announced that Naknek Electric Association (NEA) has been awarded a total of $16,462,000 to build or improve 12 miles of line and make other system improvements.
“USDA-RD’s Rural Utilities Service has provided funding to build and develop more reliable and affordable electricity in rural Alaska for many years. “This helps rural communities increase productivity and build stronger economies,” Nordlund said. “NEA’s customers will benefit from this loan by realizing an overall cost-savings in power, because of building more efficient energy resources.
This loan is made possible through the Rural Utilities Service’s (RUS) Electric Program. RUS is the successor to the Rural Electrification Administration. Eighty years ago this spring, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the law that charged USDA to provide electric power to rural America. The Electric Program makes loans and loan guarantees to non-profit and cooperative associations, public bodies and other utilities.
These type of loans demonstrate USDA-RD’s commitment to invest in infrastructure and create an opportunity for new employment, and such jobs can promote a clean-energy economy. Cleaner power helps address concerns about climate change.
For example, in 2013 the Kotzebue Electric Association, Inc. received $2,900,000 from USDA-RD’s RUS to fund system improvements designed to reduce energy use in the homes and businesses they serve. The funding helped the utility acquire a 1.4 megawatt diesel engine, which provided a good fit with the Association’s increased wind power plant. That in turn increased voltage to their wind site and brought more service capacity. The advantage to the end-user is clear, a cleaner environment and a reduced cost of energy.
Since 2009, USDA-Rural Development has invested more than $2 billion in 226 rural Alaskan communities. These investments in housing, community facilities, business, energy, water and sewer, telecom and electric have helped to grow rural Alaska’s economy and enhance the quality of life for its residents.