Rural Electrification Act

Rural Electrification Act

Other short titles	Rural Electrification and Telephone Service Act of 1936
Long title	An Act to provide for rural electrification, and for other purposes.
Nicknames	Rural Electrification Act of 1936
Enacted by	the 74th United States Congress
Effective	May 20, 1936
Citations
Public law	74-605
Statutes at Large	49 Stat. 1363
Codification
Titles amended	7 U.S.C.: Agriculture
U.S.C. sections created	7 U.S.C. ch. 31 § 901 et seq.
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate as S. 3483 by George W. Norris (I–NE) on February 17, 1936 Committee consideration by Senate Agriculture and Forestry, House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Passed the Senate on March 5, 1936 (Passed) Passed the House on April 9, 1936 (Passed) Reported by the joint conference committee on April 13, 1936; agreed to by the House on May 14, 1936 (Agreed) and by the Senate on May 15, 1936 (Agreed) Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 20, 1936

The Rural Electrification Act of 1936, enacted on May 20, 1936, provided federal loans for the installation of electrical distribution systems to serve isolated rural areas of the United States.

The funding was channeled through cooperative electric power companies, most of which still exist today. These member-owned cooperatives purchased power on a wholesale basis and distributed it using their own network of transmission and distribution lines. The Rural Electrification Act was also an attempt made by FDR's New Deal to deal with high unemployment.

On May 11, 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued Executive Order 7037, which created the Rural Electrification Administration. In 1936, the Congress endorsed Roosevelt's action by passing the Rural Electrification Act. At the time the Rural Electrification Act was passed, electricity was commonplace in cities but largely unavailable in farms, ranches, and other rural places. Representative John E. Rankin and Senator George William Norris were supporters of the Rural Electrification Act, which was signed into law by Roosevelt on May 20, 1936.

In the 1930s, the provision of power to remote areas was not thought to be economically feasible. A 2300 volt distribution system was then used in cities. This relatively low voltage could only be carried about 4 miles before the voltage drop became unacceptable.

REA cooperatives used a 6900 volt distribution network, which could support much longer runs (up to about 40 miles). Despite requiring more expensive transformers at each home, the overall system cost was manageable.

REA crews traveled through the American countryside, bringing teams of electricians along with them. The electricians added wiring to houses and barns to utilize the newly available power provided by the line crews. A standard REA installation in a house consisted of:

A ceiling-mounted light fixture was installed in each room, usually controlled by a single switch mounted near a door. At most, one outlet was installed per room, since plug-connected appliances were expensive and uncommon. Wiring was performed using type NM (nonmetallic) cable, insulated with asbestos-reinforced rubber covered with jute and tar.

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