Rural Electrification Act

Image:FDRJohnRankin,GeorgeWNorris.jpg|thumb|Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs the Rural Electrification Act with Representative John Rankin and Senator George William Norris
The Rural Electrification Act of 1936, enacted on May 20, 1936, provided federal loans for the installation of electrical distribution systems to serve isolated rural areas of the United States.
The funding was channeled through cooperative electric power companies, hundreds of which still exist today. These member-owned cooperatives purchased power on a wholesale basis and distributed it using their own network of transmission and distribution lines. The Rural Electrification Act was one of many New Deal proposals by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to remedy high unemployment during the Great Depression.

History

On May 11, 1935, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 7037, which created the Rural Electrification Administration. In 1936, the Congress endorsed Roosevelt's action by passing the Rural Electrification Act. At the time the Rural Electrification Act was passed, electricity was commonplace in cities but largely unavailable in farms, ranches, and other rural places. Representative John E. Rankin and Senator George William Norris were supporters of the Rural Electrification Act, which was signed into law by Roosevelt on May 20, 1936.
Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn was a major proponent of the REA, which he helped pass in 1936 as Chairman of the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee. Rayburn stated in 1959 that ninety percent of farm homes in the U.S. were electrified, compared to three percent in the early 1930s.

Criticism and Technical issues

Historians Richard F. Hirsh and David T. Beito have criticized the REA for stifling the growth of more decentralized non-governmental sources of power. According to Beito, "the REA, and the TVA before it, reduced incentives for consumers to “stay off the grid.” At the time those agencies came on the scene, more than half of all electrified farm homes had individual generators. Manufactured by commercial companies and sold directly to consumers, these so-called “individual lighting plants” used such diverse power sources as wind, water, gasoline, or kerosene."
Supporters of the REA argued that the provision of power to remote areas was not economically feasible. A 2300-volt distribution system was then used in cities. This relatively low voltage could be carried only about before the voltage drop became unacceptable. REA cooperatives used a 6900-volt distribution network, which could support much longer runs. Despite requiring more expensive transformers at each home, the overall system cost was manageable.
In opposition to this view, Beito notes that "Private companies had led a four-fold increase in electrification, some of which occurred during a so-called “agricultural depression” between 1924 and 1932. Had this original rate of increase continued nearly all farms would have been electrified by the 1940s.""

Wiring homes and farms

REA crews traveled through the American countryside, bringing teams of electricians along with them. The electricians added wiring to houses and barns to utilize the newly available power provided by the line crews. A standard REA installation in a house consisted of:

A 60-amp, 230-volt fuse panel, with:

A 60-amp range circuit
A 20-amp kitchen circuit
Two or three 15-amp lighting circuits

A ceiling-mounted light fixture was installed in each room, usually controlled by a single switch mounted near a door. At most, one outlet was installed per room, since plug-connected appliances were expensive and uncommon. Wiring was performed using type NM, insulated with asbestos-reinforced rubber covered with jute and tar.
Many of these original installations still exist today, though most have been augmented to support a greater number and variety of appliances.

Later amendments

Some amendments to the Rural Electrification Act include:

1944: loan terms increased to 35 years; the act is made permanent
1949: extended the act to allow loans to telephone companies wishing to extend their connections to unconnected rural areas
1993: provisions to restructure the direct loan programs for rural electricity, telephone cooperatives, and energy conservation market
December 8, 1993: North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act—The "Buy American" provision to now include Mexico and Canada.
2008: provisions for access to rural broadband telecommunications network and rural internet
2014: pilot program for rural gigabit broadband network

Date of enactment	Public law number	U.S. statute citation	U.S. legislative bill	U.S. Presidential administration
September 21, 1944	P.L. 78-425			Franklin D. Roosevelt
October 28, 1949	P.L. 81-423			Harry S. Truman
June 15, 1955	P.L. 84–70			Dwight D. Eisenhower
October 23, 1962	P.L. 87-862			John F. Kennedy
May 7, 1971	P.L. 92–12			Richard M. Nixon
June 30, 1972	P.L. 92-324			Richard M. Nixon
May 11, 1973	P.L. 93–32			Richard M. Nixon
November 4, 1975	P.L. 94–124			Gerald R. Ford
October 20, 1976	P.L. 94-570			Gerald R. Ford
May 25, 1984	P.L. 98-300			Ronald W. Reagan
October 21, 1992	P.L. 102–428			George H.W. Bush
November 1, 1993	P.L. 103–129			William J. Clinton
December 17, 1993	P.L. 103–201			William J. Clinton
June 18, 2008	P.L. 110–246			George W. Bush
February 7, 2014	P.L. 113–79			Barack H. Obama II