In 2010, the IAEC conducted an economic impact study that revealed at a time when other businesses in Iowa were retrenching and reducing their payrolls, the state’s electric cooperatives were showing significant signs of growth in both investment and income.
For example, the payrolls, purchases and deliveries of services by electric cooperatives resulted in a $1.2 billion impact throughout the state’s economy. Compared to previous studies, that’s a 48 percent increase since 2006 and a 95 percent increase compared to 2003.
Each electric cooperative in Iowa offers a unique portfolio of financial assistance through donations, access to grants and loans to help improve the quality of life in rural Iowa. This financial assistance contributes to long-term improvements in the local economy. It's the personal and business relationships that drive electric cooperatives. These low interest loans assist with local economic and community development projects such as:
Please contact your local cooperative for more information. Find a list of Iowa's electric cooperatives on our site.
The Iowa Area Development Group (IADG) was created in 1985 and is the economic development office for most of the state's electric cooperatives. Since 1985, IADG and the state's rural utilities have worked on more than 1,600 projects, attracting $5.6 billion in capital investment -- and creating and retaining more than 40,000 jobs. IADG offers a wide variety of economic development services, including site selection, financial packaging, permitting assistance and informational databases.
The cooperatives in the northeast corner of Iowa get economic development support from Dairyland Power Cooperative.
