The Alger-Delta Cooperative Electric Association received a $10,900,000 loan from the federal government to help install new customers and improve existing lines within the cooperative.

“It won’t be anything eye catching or flashy,” said Mike Furmanski, General Manager of the Alger-Delta Cooperative. “It will be a lot of smaller projects, one span at a time.”

Alger-Delta is headquartered in Gladstone and serves 10,289 consumers over 1,300 miles of line in six counties in Michigan’s central Upper Peninsula. According to Furmanski, the funding will help match the recent increase in customers while staying diligent to existing members.

“There’s a number of very small projects that will help us tie in and improve coverage. We’ll be upgrading and have quite a bit for new services; 735 new members over the next four years is reasonable,” Furmanski said.

The funding comes from a $2.7 billion investment plan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Alger-Delta is one of 64 power cooperatives receiving some funding across the country as part of the plan. Michigan received a total of $273,696,000 in loans that will connect 5,765 rural customers, but Alger-Delta is the only group entirely in the Upper Peninsula.

“These critical investments will benefit rural people and businesses in many ways for decades to come,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “This funding will help rural cooperatives and utilities invest in changes that make our energy more efficient, more reliable, and more affordable. Investing in infrastructure – roads, bridges, broadband and energy – supports good-paying jobs and keeps the United States poised to lead the global economy.”