Chickasaw Electric Cooperative

Chickasaw Electric Cooperative, a tax-exempt non-profit electric cooperative based in Somerville, Tennessee, operates as a federal grant recipient focused on rural electric infrastructure modernization and emergency response, with 96% of its recent federal footprint routed through sub-awards under state prime grantees rather than direct federal prime awards.

The cooperative's federal grant work spans two distinct domains. Its primary recent award is a $35.667 million Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service under the New Empowering Rural America (New ERA) Program (CFDA 10.758), awarded January 15, 2025, with ultimate completion set for January 15, 2027. This grant funds comprehensive clean energy infrastructure projects designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while enhancing the resiliency, reliability, and affordability of the cooperative's rural electric system. The New ERA Program provides financial assistance in the form of loans at favorable interest rates and grants covering up to 25% of total project costs to eligible electric cooperatives in rural areas.

The cooperative's second category of federal activity involves sub-awards flowing through the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency as prime grantee, totaling 26 sub-awards spanning 2022 to 2025. Sub-awards issued in February 2022 and June 2023 (labeled PA 4645 and PA 4729 respectively) supported emergency protective measures during the pandemic, including community emergency medical care, medical sheltering, vaccine administration and distribution, and community engagement. Additional sub-awards awarded in July 2023 and March 2025 continue pandemic-response reimbursement to state, local, and tribal entities and private non-profits for emergency protective measures necessary to save lives and protect public health and safety.

The cooperative's combined federal award portfolio totals $46.3 million obligated across 27 awards over the past three years. Activity peaked in 2022 with 17 awards (primarily pandemic-response sub-awards), declined to 7 awards in 2023, and reset to 3 awards in 2025 with the arrival of the New ERA prime grant. Customer concentration reflects this dual structure: the Federal Emergency Management Agency Headquarters Financial Assistance Awards account for 26 awards routed through state intermediaries, while the Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service represents the single direct prime relationship. One award (the New ERA grant) reaches ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months.