As Power Outages Hurt Businesses & Residents, Stevens Introduces Plan for SBA Loan Relief
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Jan. 28, 2024)
Farmington Hills, MI – Congresswoman Haley Stevens was in Farmington Hills on Tuesday for a round table discussion with businesses of all sizes regarding their experiences with power outages and the impact they have on business. She met afterward with members of the press to announce proposed legislation that would allow small business owners and residents to use Small Business Act funding for low interest loans to help recover from power-outage related losses.
“We know that power outages are increasing, at least over the last decade, in part because of weather events and ongoing infrastructure challenge,” Stevens said.
If approved, small businesses and residents in an area that has seen a minimum of 48 hours of power outage could apply for an SBA loan to help recover from losses. Losses could included spoiled inventories, damaged, equipment, and lost revenue. For residents it could help with temporary housing and spoiled food costs.
Those applying would need to be in an area where the Mayor, President, or Supervisor makes a disaster declaration due to the outage. Loans would need to be repaid, though the interest rate is low.
Funds could come from the Small Business Association, which already has an allocation of funding to assist businesses in emergencies and with other small business programs. This legislation, Stevens explained, will expand the loan program already administered by the SBA.
The effort does not include funding involvement by the utilities themselves. When asked about funding from the utilities and what is being done to prevent power outages in the first place, Stevens said that state lawmakers are the ones overseeing the utilities. She noted that the proposed Prolonged Power Outage Act, is “one piece of this,” in addressing the impacts of the outages, citing also efforts federally to address climate change, and efforts for advancing science and technology.
Stevens was joined at the podium by Farmington Hills Mayor Theresa Rich, and by Rifino Valentine who owns Valentine Distilling in Ferndale.
“I commend Congresswoman Stevens for introducing this crucial bill,” said Mayor Rich. “This legislation empowers mayors to declare a disaster when power outages extend beyond 48 hours, providing a lifeline to residents and businesses through low-interest loans. These financial resources can be instrumental in sustaining a business and assisting community members in times of adversity.”
Valentine told reporters that power outages happen “several times a year at least.” For his business, and other businesses across the state and the nation, the current power problems are hitting them while they continue to struggle with the problems brought on by the pandemic, by supply chain issues, and by inflation.
The power outages are particularly hard for a business that crafts high quality vodka, gin, and whiskey. “We have tens of thousands of dollars of fermentation that we’ve lost because of these power outages,” Valentine said. “We need to keep these fermentations cool. When we loose power, not only are we closing product, we’re losing a bunch of equipment. When the power comes back on, a lot of our equipment is not built for that sort of stuff. So over the last 17 or 18 years we’ve lost a lot of money.”
The round table was helpful, he said, in helping “to recognize that everybody faces the same issues at some level, whether you’re large multi billion dollar company, a small business like me. A lot of the issues are the same.”
Brad Williams, Vice President of Government Relations for the Detroit Regional Chamber said “Prolonged power outages are not just inconveniences – they represent a significant threat to Michigan’s, and the country’s, economy. Every hour of downtime for a manufacturing facility translates to lost production, lost wages, and lost tax revenue. By prioritizing grid modernization and emergency response plans, we can mitigate these risks and ensure that Michigan’s economic engine continues to hum.”
The legislation was introduced Jan. 22, and must go through a committee process before working it’s way to the House for a vote. Stevens said she’s “got a lot of work to do when I get back to Washington,” but that she’s already been gaining support from fellow officials, as well as the support of by the Detroit Regional Chamber and the Michigan Public Service Commission.
