Strong institutions, favorable financing, clear service territories, encouraging productive uses, reducing drudgery for women, and local involvement. Do these all sound like familiar prescriptions for successful rural electrification?
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Source: NRECA |
In fact they encompass some of
the eight steps to successful rural electrification highlighted in a previous blog. Recently I was doing a bit of research on the United States
Rural Electrification Administration (REA) and I came across some interesting quotes that illustrate many of these points—some from the 1930s no less.
Before plunging into the quotes, some salient facts for those that do not live in the US—or for those living in urban areas in the US! The United States beginning in the 1930s began implementing a new rural electrification program as part of
Roosevelt’s New Deal that was based on a newly created government agency called the Rural Electrification Administration. This government agency was created not to carry out rural electrification projects, but to support their implementation through electricity distribution companies called
rural electric cooperatives. These cooperatives were and still are private, independent electric utilities anchored firmly in the communities that they serve. Today there are
more than 900 electric cooperatives in the United States providing reliable electricity service to
42 million Americans while maintaining a unique consumer-focused approach to business. For more facts see
US Utility Fact Sheet published by the
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
With this background, it is now time for the quotes which have been paraphrased to provide a better context for understanding them.
See much more below the break....