Sac Osage Electric Cooperative will receive a $10.5 million loan to build 32 miles of line, improve 14 miles of existing line, and make other system improvements including smart grid projects.  Sac Osage is headquartered in El Dorado Springs and serves approximately 11,000 customers in all or portions of nine counties in southwest Missouri.

Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $309 million in 16 projects to improve rural electric infrastructure in 12 states.  Missouri State Director Jeff Case is pleased to announce that over 10 percent of this investment is going to improve rural Missouri communities.

The loans announced today are being made through USDA’s Electric Infrastructure Loan and Loan Guarantee program. It helps finance generation, transmission and distribution projects; system improvements; and energy conservation projects in communities with 10,000 or fewer residents.

Today’s investments will build or improve 1,660 miles of electric line serving rural homes, farms and businesses. USDA is funding infrastructure improvements for utilities in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota and Washington.

Funding for these loans was included in the FY 2018 Omnibus spending bill. It allocates significant resources for infrastructure investments, including $6.25 billion to USDA for electric loans. The measure also directs Secretary Perdue to make investments in rural communities with the greatest infrastructure needs.

In addition to funding in the 2018 Omnibus bill, President Trump has proposed a $200 billion infrastructure investment plan that allocates 25 percent ($50 billion) to rural projects.

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