Economic Development

Economic Development Loans Reach $1.2 Million Mark

Since 2010, AEPCO has made several loans from grants provided to us by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Economic Development Loans and Grants (REDLG) program. We administer low-interest loans from revolving funds to business development projects in electric cooperative communities. In 2018, USDA awarded a grant to AEPCO to establish our second revolving loan fund that provides zero- and low-interest loans

• $182,213: The amount of our latest loan, which helped construct a self-service fuel farm for the airport in Benson, Arizona.
• $1.2 million: The total amount we have provided in loans to our communities through REDLG. Previous loans helped fund improvements for hospitals in Benson and Willcox, Arizona.

Study Reveals AzGT Contributions
to Region’s Economy

AzGT recently commissioned Cochise College’s U.S. Economic Research group to study our economic impact on our region. 2020 findings included the fact that each job at AzGT creates an additional 1.3 jobs in the regional economy.

• $285.1 million: That’s how much AzGT generated in 2020 economic activity from spending and sales in rural southeastern Arizona, including Cochise, Graham, Greenlee and Santa Cruz counties. This includes $45.3 million in associated household earnings supporting 516 jobs region-wide.
• $95.5 million: That’s how much Apache Generating Station alone created in 2020 in spending and sales as part of AzGT’s overall impact. This includes $15.2 million in associated household earnings throughout the region.

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Arizona G&T Cooperatives

Apache Generating Station