Electric cooperatives receive $13.25M in loans

Southwest Missouri Electric Cooperative in Bolivar will receive $9.29 million in a 35-year low-interest loan, southwest Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt announced Wednesday.

The funds are reimbursement for expenses incurred from adding 119 miles of distribution lines and other system improvements. In the last three years, nearly 2,500 customers have been added to the cooperative’s 11-county service area, which includes Greene and Polk counties.

Barry County Electric Cooperative in Cassville also will receive a federal loan amounting to $3.94 million. The cooperative has added 22 miles of distribution lines in the last three years and more than 500 new customers in Barry and McDonald counties.

“The growth in customer base and demand for services are indications that people are moving to the region to find work and raise their families,” Blunt said in a news release. “This is keeping our economy strong.”