USDA Backs $486.7 Million in Georgia Electric Upgrades
A nearly half-billion-dollar federal loan is headed to Georgia’s electric infrastructure, with improvements aimed at strengthening reliability in rural communities where dependable power is also important to farms and agribusinesses.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced $486.7 million in financing through its Electric Infrastructure Loan Program. The loan will go to Oglethorpe Power, a generation and transmission cooperative headquartered in Tucker, Georgia.
Oglethorpe Power plans to use the USDA Rural Development financing for upgrades, replacements and maintenance at 14 generation sites it owns or co-owns. USDA says those improvements are expected to enhance system reliability, reduce operating costs and help ease long-term pressure on consumer electric rates.
Oglethorpe Power is owned by 38 electric distribution cooperatives serving customers across Georgia. It supplies wholesale electricity from a portfolio that includes nuclear, natural gas, coal and hydroelectric generation, along with other resources and power supply contracts.
For agriculture, reliable rural electric infrastructure supports everything from irrigation and livestock operations to processing, storage and other energy-dependent parts of the farm economy.
