Rural communities are essential to America’s economy, but they face steep energy challenges: higher costs, older infrastructure and limited resources. Unlike urban utilities, rural co-ops and municipal providers must maintain long power lines for sparse customer bases—making upgrades costly and peak demand harder to manage.

Smarter energy efficiency—with load flexibility, digital controls, and targeted demand response—offers a powerful alternative. These solutions can lower costs, strengthen reliability and reduce the need for major infrastructure projects.

Why Rural Energy Costs More

Many rural utilities serve as few as seven customers per mile of line, compared to thousands in urban areas. That leads to:

• Higher capital and maintenance costs
• Peak load volatility (e.g., harvest season)
• Limited funds for modernization
• Older systems and high energy burdens

ASE has examples of rate designs that encourage demand flexibility without increasing customer burden for any regulators, state energy offices or others who want them.

Case Study: Peak Load Management in Action

An Upper Midwest co-op deployed load-control switches on 4,000 HVAC systems and water heaters. Load control switches can turn on or off equipment remotely when it makes sense and are a component of demand response programs. The results:

• Shed several megawatts during peak hours
• Deferred a $1.2M substation upgrade
• Reduced wholesale power costs
• Delivered rebates and bill savings to customers.

This model—documented in U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and co-op research—shows how demand-side tools can cut peak capacity needs and system strain.

Efficiency = Resilience

Rural communities are vulnerable to wildfires, storms and polar vortex events. Efficiency and load-shifting tools help by:

• Automating heating/cooling during grid stress
• Using smart meters and predictive maintenance
• Optimizing agricultural loads (e.g., irrigation, livestock cooling)

Studies from national labs indicate these upgrades can reduce system costs by 20–30% while enabling smoother integration of distributed resources.
 

Why This Matters for Energy Efficiency—and ASE’s Work

Turning efficiency and flexible demand into dependable grid services aligns directly with ASE’s mission: lowering costs, improving reliability and using today’s infrastructure more effectively.

Through the Innovation Policy Committee, ASE convenes co-ops, vendors, and policymakers to advance practical tools—such as device interoperability, controls and demand flexibility—that deliver measurable savings.

Federal Opportunity: Support Smart Control Pilots

Programs like USDA’s REAP support rural solar and efficiency, but rarely fund load flexibility or control-based upgrades. ASE recommends:

1. Expanding REAP eligibility to include smart thermostats, AMI, and controls
2. Launching DOE–USDA pilots for building and farm flexibility
3. Funding workforce training and technical assistance for co-ops
4. Coordinating with labs (LBNL, ORNL, PNNL) to share best practices
    

Smarter Energy for Rural Strength

Rural America needs more than energy access—it needs affordability, resilience, and flexibility. With the right tools and support, rural utilities can lower system costs, avoid expensive upgrades and empower customers with long-term savings. Smarter efficiency isn’t about building more—it’s about using what we already have, better.

Resources & Further Reading

• USDA REAP Program Overview
• NARUC Subcommittee on Rural Issues
• ASE Active Efficiency Policy Platform
• Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (GEB) Research Hub
• ASE 2025 Virtual Power Plant Report
• PNNL Smart Grid R&D
• LBNL Flexible Building Research
• DOE Connected Communities
• Touchstone Energy Cooperatives
• NRECA
• Cooperative Research Network (CRN)

We’d love to hear from you:

Email Joe Robinson at jrobinson@ase.org if you're interested in getting involved:

• Share your impact: Have data, examples, or a short success story (2–3 sentences + a stat)? Email us to have it featured in ASE’s communications.
• Shape rural priorities: Email Joe with the subject “Interested in IPC” to join our next Innovation Policy Committee meeting.
• Partner with ASE: Collaborate on a rural case study, share data for our Active Efficiency work, or contribute to ASE’s state and federal education efforts.