Rural Energy Savings Program
| Published date | 23 October 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 67427 |
| Record Number | 2020-21772 |
| Section | Rules and Regulations |
| Court | Agriculture Department,Rural Utilities Service |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 206 (Friday, October 23, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 206 (Friday, October 23, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 67427]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21772]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 206 / Friday, October 23, 2020 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 67427]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service
7 CFR Part 1719
RIN 0572-AC45
Rural Energy Savings Program
AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule and response to comments.
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SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), a Rural Development agency
of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is confirming
the final rule published in the Federal Register on April 2, 2020 to
establish the Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP) as authorized by
Section 6407 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, as
amended. This document also provides the Agency an opportunity to
acknowledge public comments received on the final rule.
DATES: The final rule published April 2, 2020 at 85 FR 18413 is
confirmed.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Coates, Rural Utilities
Service, Electric Program, Rural Development, United States Department
of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, STOP 1568, Room 5165-S,
Washington, DC 20250; Telephone: (202) 260-5415; Email
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Rural Utilities Service published the
RESP final rule to assist rural families and small businesses achieve
cost savings by providing loans to qualified consumers through eligible
entities to implement durable cost-effective energy efficiency measures
pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 8107a(a) of the RESP authorizing statute. The
Secretary may use this funding to allow eligible entities to offer
energy efficiency loans to customers in any part of their service
territory in accordance to 7 CFR part 1719. The Agency encourages
applications that will support recommendations made in the Rural
Prosperity Task Force report (see www.usda.gov/ruralprosperity) to help
improve life in rural America, to consider projects that provide
measurable results in helping rural communities build robust and
sustainable economies through strategic investments in infrastructure,
partnerships and innovation. Key strategies include: Achieving e-
Connectivity for rural America, developing the rural economy,
harnessing technological innovation, supporting a rural workforce, and
improving quality of life.
Summary of Comments and Responses
RUS invited comments on the final rule published on April 2, 2020
in the Federal Register (85 FR 18413) and received three comments. Two
comments were received were from business organizations; Fleet
Development and Energy Trust. One comment was received from an
individual, Mr. Inri Gonzalez. The comments and Agency's responses are
summarized as follows:
Issue 1: One individual and one organization expressed support for
the Program as published on April 2, 2020 in the Federal Register.
Agency Response: The Agency appreciates the input from the two
respondents that support the final rule.
Issue 2: Two commenters provide energy efficiency services in their
state, including services to multi-family dwellings and manufactured
homes, and more specifically the replacement of substandard
manufactured housing units. One commenter wrote that ``One
recommendation we offer is to re-consider the allowable payback period
of both the RESP loan to the eligible borrower and the loan from the
borrower to the qualified consumer. Often utility infrastructure,
energy efficiency and renewable energy projects are major long-term
capital investments. It is not uncommon for a project of any scale to
meet its return on investment in the 12-20-year range and then deliver
energy savings for the next 10-20 years. We believe this financial
reality may have been partly responsible for the historic under use of
the program. Energy efficiency and renewable energy projects deliver
their primary energy savings in the out years and are essentially
break-even projects in the first years. A debt amortization period of
only 10-years can leave a significant gap from Year 10 on.'' The
commenter suggested a potential solution would be to allow the eligible
borrower to request repayment schedules that fit the needs of the
project for both repayment to RESP and the qualified consumer repayment
to the re-lender. The other commenter states that their company
invested in manufactured home replacement projects in Oregon. ``It has
been our experience that the higher monthly payments associated with a
10-year loan term for higher cost measures such as manufactured homes,
can constitute a significant obstacle for low- and moderate-income
Oregonians--many of whom live in rural communities. The manufactured
home replacement pilot program which they successfully operate utilizes
a 20-year customer loan term. Should RUS find it feasible to do so, the
agency should consider whether extending the Qualified consumer loan
term to 20 years would result in more uptake by rural utility customers
and more effectively advance RUS ability to deploy these funds to the
benefit of rural Americans.''
Agency Response--The current 10-year maturity on loans to qualified
consumers is a statutory requirement provided in the Rural Energy
Savings Program enabling statute, see 7 U.S.C. 8107a(d)(1)(B). An
amendment to that program feature will require Congressional action.
The RUS appreciates the interest of the commenters in the RESP and
thanks them for their submissions.
Chad Rupe,
Administrator, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-21772 Filed 10-22-20; 8:45 am]
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