Pandemic could cost nation’s electric cooperatives $10 billion

New research by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) finds electric cooperatives stand to lose $10 billion through 2022 due to the pandemic and economic slowdown it has caused.

NRECA projections find electric co-ops will see a decline of $7.4 billion in operating revenues as electricity consumption falls by 5 percent. Job loss and decreases in income are expected to lead to additional delinquencies, resulting in a loss of $2.6 billion through 2022. The report projects reductions in electric co-op sales of 6.1 percent in 2020, 6 percent in 2021 and 3 percent in 2022.