USDA says it has made the largest loan in the history of its Rural Utilities Service: $3.3 billion to Oglethorpe Power Corporation to build the Smarr Combined-Cycle plant in Monroe County, Georgia. The gas-fired plant is meant to help keep electricity affordable for 38 electric cooperatives that serve nearly 5 million people. The department gave no rate, term or bill figure.
What USDA announced in Georgia
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the loan on October 14 during a visit to the construction site. USDA’s release calls it historic and says it is the largest ever delivered by the Rural Utilities Service, the Rural Development agency that finances electric infrastructure.
Rollins made the announcement at the construction site, so work on the plant is under way, but the release gives no completion date and no capacity in megawatts. Those two figures would show how much new power the loan buys.
Oglethorpe Power is owned by 38 electric distribution cooperatives. Those co-ops, rather than Oglethorpe itself, sell power to homes and businesses, and USDA says they serve nearly 5 million people across Georgia. Oglethorpe generates electricity from natural gas, coal, nuclear and hydroelectric sources. The 38 co-ops own the company, so the members that buy its power are also its owners.
USDA says the lower-cost financing will help keep electricity affordable for Georgia families. Oglethorpe’s president and chief executive, Annalisa Bloodworth, said the loan helps member cooperatives keep electricity affordable for the communities they serve.
Spread across the nearly 5 million people the co-ops serve, $3.3 billion works out to about $660 a person in borrowing. That is a comparison of scale, not a bill, and the announcement does not say how the cost will be recovered in rates.
The release does not say how much any member’s bill would change, what interest rate Oglethorpe will pay or how long the loan runs. Readers should treat the affordability claim as a stated goal, not a measured savings figure.
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Why the cooperatives say they need the plant
Oglethorpe’s new generation page describes Smarr as a capital investment of more than $3 billion in Monroe County. It says the utility’s member cooperatives approved two new generation projects to meet their rising electricity demands. Those figures come from the company, not from USDA.
The second project is Talbot Unit 7, a 240-megawatt combustion turbine at the Talbot Energy Facility in Talbot County. Oglethorpe puts its capital cost at $360 million. When it comes online, the company says, it will be the most efficient natural gas peaking unit in its fleet.
Smarr is more than eight times the size of Talbot Unit 7 by company-stated cost. Added together, the company’s figures for the two projects exceed $3.36 billion in capital investment, and the company ties both to rising demand from its member cooperatives. USDA’s announcement concerns Smarr alone.
Neither page gives Smarr’s generating capacity or its in-service date. A $3.3 billion loan set beside a plant described as costing more than $3 billion suggests the federal financing covers a large share, but neither source says it covers all of it.
How federal loans reach rural utilities
USDA’s Electric Programs page says the agency offers direct loans and loan guarantees to electric utilities that serve rural customers. Eligible borrowers include nonprofit and cooperative associations, public bodies and other utilities, which fits the co-op ownership behind Oglethorpe.
Rural Development describes Rural Utilities Service financing as paying for much-needed infrastructure improvements in rural communities. Insured loans primarily finance distribution facilities, while a separate program covers generation or storage from renewable sources. Smarr is a natural gas plant, and the Georgia announcement does not name which loan program applies.
This announcement says nothing about the rate attached to the $3.3 billion. USDA’s wording, “lower-cost financing,” is the only price signal the department offers.
USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development Glen Smith said the department is “proud to partner with Oglethorpe on this significant investment in America’s rural energy infrastructure.” Rollins said “great things are happening with our rural electric cooperatives nationwide.”
What the loan changes for a Georgia power bill
The announcement draws a line from a federal loan to an electric bill, but it stops at the claim. Electric cooperative members in Georgia pay their local co-op, and the co-op buys power from Oglethorpe. Whether cheaper financing shows up in the rate a household pays depends on decisions the release does not describe.
If the nearly 5 million people were spread evenly, each of the 38 cooperatives would serve about 130,000 of them, though the real numbers vary by co-op. Which co-op serves a given household, and what it plans to charge, is information the USDA announcement leaves to the cooperatives themselves.
For retirees on a fixed income in those 38 co-op territories, the practical point is that no bill relief has been promised in dollars. The loan is a bet that new gas generation will hold costs down as demand grows. Whether it does will show up in the rates members are charged.
Is an electric bill the only home cost retirees can trim?
Georgia co-op members were given a goal of affordable power, not a dollar figure, so the rest of the home budget still needs attention. Help with heating, cooling and repairs usually goes to applicants who file before funds run out and then have to renew on time.
The related job is home-cost help, and The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit covers heating, cooling and home-repair help plus an application log and renewal calendar. Part 5 is devoted to utilities and home costs, and the kit explains how to claim each program it lists.
Keep an application log for home-energy help in the home-cost relief kit →
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
