USDA Rural Development's Electric Programs

Rural Electrification Loans

Hardship Loans
Municipal Loans
Treasury Loans
FFB Guaranteed Loans

The loan program information on this page is available in an Adobe Acrobat PDF file which is available for viewing and download.

Hardship Loans

Eligible Facilities: Distribution, subtransmission and headquarters (service & warehouse) facilities
Eligible Borrowers: Retail providers 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, as determined by the RUS Administrator
Interest Rate: 5%
Supplemental Financing Required: No
Loan Term: Term of loan not to exceed useful life of the facilities being financed, with a maximum term of 35 years

Municipal Rate Loans

Eligible Facilities: Distribution, subtransmission and headquarters (service & warehouse) facilities
Eligible Borrowers: Retail providers for all facilities; power supply providers for subtransmission and headquarters facilities
Interest Rate: Interest rates will be established quarterly by RUS based on interest rates available in the municipal bond market for similar maturities and is determined at the time of the advance
Supplemental Financing Required: Yes (generally 30%) except in the case of financial hardship as determined by the RUS Administrator and the first loan following a merger or consolidation
Loan Term: Term of loan not to exceed useful life of the facilities being financed, with a maximum term of 35 years. Power supply borrowers' loan term is also based on the term of its wholesale power contracts.

Treasury Rate Loans

Eligible Facilities: Distribution, subtransmission, headquarters (service & warehouse) and renewable generation facilities
Eligible Borrowers: Retail providers for all facilities; power supply providers for renewable generation facilities
Interest Rate: Interest rates will be established daily by the United States Treasury and is determined at the time of each advance
Supplemental Financing Required: No
Loan Term: Term of loan not to exceed useful life of the facilities being financed, with a maximum term of 35 years. Power supply borrowers' loan term is also based on the term of its wholesale power contracts.

FFB Guaranteed Loans

Eligible Facilities: Distribution, transmission (bulk and subtransmission), generation and headquarters (office, service and warehouse) facilities
Eligible Borrowers: Retail and power supply providers
Interest Rate: Interest rates will be established daily by the United States Treasury. Added to that rate is 1/8 of one percent. The interest rate is determined at the time of each advance
Supplemental Financing Required: No
Loan Term: Term of loan not to exceed useful life of the facilities being financed, with a maximum term of 35 years. Power supply borrowers' loan term is also based on the term of its wholesale power contracts.

Eligible Borrowers

Eligible borrowers are corporations, states, territories, and subdivisions and agencies thereof, municipalities, people's utility districts, and cooperative, non-profit, limited-dividend or mutual associations that provide retail or power supply service needs in rural areas

Rates

Current interest rates for these loan programs may be found on the Rates page.

Specific language on loan eligibility and terms can be found in 7 CFR Part 1714. Loan policies and application procedures can be found in 7 CFR Part 1710.

Additional information about the electric loan programs and advice on completing and assembling an application are available from the national office. The Electric Program is divided in two regional divisions: Northern Regional Division, (202) 720-1420; Southern Regional Division, (202) 720-0848. Power supply borrowers should contact the Power Supply Division, (202) 720-6436.