While rural America has changed greatly because of and since, the passage of that landmark legislation, many of the challenges remain. Geography and low population density make rural utility service difficult to provide and access to affordable, critically important capital. This fiscal year, RUS will finance more than one billion dollars in rural electric infrastructure. That commitment from Congress and the Administration will unlock billions of dollars of private sector investment. While we are proud of our accomplishments, we know that our work is not done.
Rural systems are simply more expensive to operate and maintain than systems in urban areas.
Plant improvements are expensive, and capital costs are more expensive on a per consumer basis for rural systems. In a competitive marketplace, RUS credit support and leveraging of private sector investment capital will be more valuable than ever. This is a time of great regulatory and market change. These changes could have a profound effect on rural electric service providers as well as loan security issues in the Rural Utilities Service loan portfolio. As electric restructuring unfolds, the RUS is keenly focused on maintaining both quality of service and taxpayer's loan security.