A rural electric coop in northwest Iowa has been giving out grants in hopes of spurring economic growth in the region and building its customer base. Lyle Korver, general manager of the Northwest R-E-C in Orange City, says his R-E-C applied for grants which they’ve rolled into a one-point-two million dollar revolving loan fund. Korver says they’ve made 15 loans totally two-point-three milllion, and as the money comes back in, they loan it out again. He says it’s been an effective tool in boosting the economy and the cooperative’s bottom line. Korver says the R-E-C’s sales have increased 40 percent over the past four years, and much of the growth is due to the business expansion. There are two new ethanol plants getting power from the coop. Korver says the ultimate goal for the coop is to increase kilowatt hour sales, because as those sales increase, they can spread costs to more rate-payers, which keeps rates down. He says the side benefit from the coop’s grant program is it has been a boost to the local economy and created new jobs in the area.
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