(WASHINGTON, DC) -- The nation's electric co-ops, which
often must maintain miles of powerlines to support small numbers of customers,
say they have been slammed by the decline in electricity consumption due to the
drop in economic activity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A study released Wednesday by the National Rural Electric
Cooperative Association, a trade association, said co-ops anticipated a 5
percent decline in power consumption which, along with unpaid bills, could
amount to $10 billion in losses through 2022. "As the economic impact of
this pandemic spreads, electric co-ops will be increasingly challenged as they
work to keep the lights on for hospitals, grocery stores and millions of new
home office," Jim Matheson, NRECA's CEO, said in a statement.
