ARLINGTON, Va. – National Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO Jim Matheson today issued the following statement on the confirmation of Glen Smith as Under Secretary of Rural Development at the USDA.
“The partnership between electric cooperatives, USDA Rural Development and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is critically important. We look forward to working with Under Secretary Smith in his new role,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson. “The RUS electric loan program is the most successful infrastructure program in our country’s history, and it helps electric cooperatives build and maintain energy infrastructure at a time of increasing electricity demand, especially in rural communities. We look forward to working closely with Under Secretary Smith to continue the partnership between USDA and America’s electric cooperatives.”
Electric cooperatives are utilizing several funding opportunities within Rural Development to strengthen and greatly expand energy and broadband infrastructure to continue to provide safe, affordable and reliable energy and access in rural America.
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national trade association representing nearly 900 local electric cooperatives. From growing suburbs to remote farming communities, electric co-ops serve as engines of economic development for 42 million Americans across 56 percent of the nation’s landscape. As local businesses built by the consumers they serve, electric cooperatives have meaningful ties to rural America and invest $12 billion annually in their communities.
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