The small federal investment in the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) electric loan programs over the years, coupled with strong management by the cooperative businesses, keep the electric cooperative infrastructure strong and viable today.
RUS financing remains an essential component of the co-op utility sector's loan portfolio. Loans to eligible electric cooperatives represent approximately 22 percent of total co-op financing.
As in many industries, the federal government provides assistance to each sector of the utility business. IOUs get tax breaks, municipals have access to tax exempt financing and some electric cooperatives receive loans through the RUS program.
Although some cooperatives have seen a portion of their service territories transformed into urban areas, for the most part electric co-ops are the sole providers serving far-flung, sparsely populated areas with below-average income levels. For these reasons, the RUS mission for financing new and maintaining existing electric infrastructure in rural America must be maintained.
NRECA wants Congress to ensure that its consumers continue to have access to safe, reliable, and at-cost supplies of power from electric cooperative utilities by fully funding the RUS electric loan program.
To learn more about NRECA’s position affecting RUS Financing, please select the links below.
Documents:
2010 NRECA Legislative Conference Brochure on Rural Utilities Service (RUS)
75 Years of Affordable Infrastructure and Economic Opportunity
Type: Brochure Date: 2010-04-30 Size: 385KB- RUS Electric Loan Programs "Fast Facts"
Investments in a Secure, Reliable Electric Utility Infrastructure
Type: Fast Fact Date: 2010-04-01 Size: 108KB - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Broadband Initiative
NRECA filed comments in response to the NTIA-RUS Joint Request for Information regarding Stimulus funding of their respective broadband initiatives. NRECA urges National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and RUS to adopt Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) eligibility and grant application evaluation criteria that apportions grant money among the neediest, gives meaning to the statutory “public interest” requirement, takes into consideration the way cooperatives are organized and operate, including the nature of “capital credits, and broadly defines “broadband service.”
Type: Date: 2009-04-13 Size: 2443KB - NRECA Announces Support for 2007 Farm Bill.
In a letter to Representatives Collin Peterson and Bob Goodlatte, NRECA CEO Glenn English expressed his support for the bill, which includes key provisions that invest in rural communities nationwide.
Type: Letter Date: 2007-07-25 Size: 247KB