WASHINGTON — Senator Chuck Grassley said today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Rural Development is awarding a $6 million loan guarantee to the Southwest Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative in Corning through the Electric Hardship Loan program.
"It's great to see USDA investing in rural America's utilities and cooperatives," Grassley said. "These funds will help improve service to rural customers."
Southwest Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative will use the money to help build 19 miles of new distribution lines, make improvements to 130 miles of distribution lines and make other system improvements. The project will serve 360 new consumers.
According to the USDA, the Electric Hardship Loan program assists distribution, subtransmission and headquarters facilities that provide retail or power supply service needs in rural areas that meet rate disparity thresholds and whose consumers fall below average per capita and household income thresholds or that have suffered a severe, unavoidable hardship, such as a natural disaster.