The U.S. Department of Agriculture celebrated the 90th anniversary of the Rural Electrification Act on May 27, 2026, announcing that USDA Rural Development's Rural Utilities Service has invested $10.4 billion in rural electric generation, transmission, and distribution systems across the United States since January 20, 2025.

The Rural Electrification Act was signed into law on May 20, 1936, providing funding to extend electricity into rural areas. Farmers, ranchers, and rural families responded by forming cooperatives that secured financing to power their homes, farms, and businesses. By the 1950s, more than 90 percent of farms in the United States had electricity.

"Ninety years ago, the Rural Electrification Act transformed rural America and changed the future of this great nation," said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. "It proved that when government and local communities work together, there is no challenge beyond our reach. Today, the Trump Administration remains committed to advancing that legacy by ensuring our rural communities have the resources they need to succeed."

"On the 90th anniversary of the Rural Electrification Act, we recognize how it transformed rural America and launched the electric cooperative model—giving communities reliable, affordable power and a voice in their energy future," said Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. "The Rural Utilities Service was created to carry that mission forward and today, RUS builds on that foundation by investing in resilient infrastructure and supporting access to reliable, affordable energy. It remains the most successful infrastructure financing bank in federal history and the lowest-cost source of financing for co-ops—keeping rates low while returning value to taxpayers through loan repayment with interest."

Through the Rural Utilities Service, USDA supports energy infrastructure aimed at keeping pace with economic growth, strengthening grid resilience, and hardening rural electric systems against cyber and physical threats. Many of the cooperatives formed during the original rural electrification era still operate today.