Redl - electric grant

The Department of Agriculture Rural Business Cooperative Services awarded Tri-County Electric Membership Corp $250,000 on May 28, 2026, under the Rural Economic Development Loans and Grants program (CFDA 10.854).

Tri-County EMC, a non-profit electric utility cooperative headquartered in Gray, Georgia, operates as a pass-through intermediary recipient distributing zero-interest grant capital to eligible rural businesses and development projects within its service territory in North Carolina. The organization channels funding to support project feasibility studies, business start-up costs, business incubator projects, and other expenses designed to foster rural entrepreneurship and job creation.

The award obligates $250,000 with a period of performance extending from May 28, 2026, to May 28, 2028. Place of performance is North Carolina, USA.

Under the Rural Economic Development Loans and Grants program, USDA provides zero-interest funding to eligible local utility organizations, which pass the capital through to local businesses and development projects. The program supports rural economic development and job creation projects. Eligible recipients include former Rural Utilities Service borrowers, non-profit utilities eligible under the Rural Development Electric or Telecommunication Programs, current RUS or Rural Telephone Bank borrowers, and electric and telephone utilities with outstanding RUS loans or guarantees and no delinquent federal debt or bankruptcy proceedings.