Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP)

The Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP) provides loans to entities who provide energy efficiency services in rural areas that agree to make affordable loans to help Qualified consumers implement cost- effective, energy efficiency measures. This prog

The Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP) is a relending program that helps rural families and small businesses achieve cost savings by providing loans to qualified consumers to implement durable cost-effective energy efficiency measures. Eligible applicants under the RESP include current and former Rural Utilities Service (RUS) electric borrowers, subsidiaries of current or former RUS electric borrowers, and entities that provide eligible purposes under RESP.

Eligible entities offering energy efficient loans to customers within any part of their service territory as defined in 7 CFR 1719.

Borrowers loan to qualified consumers for purposes of implementing energy efficient improvements.

The following documents are required in order to submit a completed application: Letter of intent, energy efficiency program implementation work plan, environmental compliance agreement, a pro forma balance sheet, itemized budget for RESP activities and other applicable documents as specified within the RESP Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA).

The Rural Energy Savings Program provides loans to qualified consumers to implement durable cost-effective energy efficiency measures. Borrowers must meet eligibility requirements, loan term must not exceed 10 years, loans made by an eligible entity to a qualified consumer may bear interest not to exceed 5%.

RESP loans are generally made for a period up to 10 years. Any disbursements of loan funds to an eligible entity in 12 consecutive months from the date of the first advance shall not exceed 50 percent of the approved loan amount.

To be considered for financing pursuant to this notice, an Applicant must submit a Letter of Intent to apply, as provided in the NOFA and 7 CFR 1719. The Letter of Intent is to be submitted in an electronic Portable Document Format (PDF), not to exceed 10 MB in size, via email to RESP@usda.gov. If information in the Letter of Intent concludes the applicant is eligible to apply, they will be notified by the Agency with an Invitation to Proceed with an application. If funds are exhausted prior to the end of a funding cycle, applicants that qualify based on their Letter of Intent will be placed in a queue and will be notified when funds become available. Incomplete Letters of Intent will not be considered by RUS.

A RESP Applicant that has been invited in writing by RUS to proceed with the loan application, as provided in this NOFA and 7 CFR 1719, will have up to ninety (90) days to complete the documentation for a complete application. The ninety (90) day timeframe will begin from the date the RESP Applicant receives an email with RUS's Invitation to proceed. If the deadline to submit the completed application falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a Federal holiday, the application is due the next business day. Instructions on how to submit the loan application package will be included in the RUS Invitation to proceed.

Please refer to the Notice of Funding Availability and 7 CFR 1719 for the criteria.

The RUS Administrator, has the discretion to make the final decision on approvals of the loans upon a finding that the applicant has met the criteria as outlined in the RESP Notice of Funds.