H.R. 2897 expands the Small Business Act to allow small businesses and homeowners to access federal disaster loans when they experience prolonged power outages. The bill defines a "prolonged power outage" as either an outage affecting at least 25 homes or businesses in a county (where property damage reaches 40 percent of its value) or one lasting at least 48 hours affecting 25 or more properties. Borrowers affected by qualifying outages can use disaster loan proceeds not only to cover direct power loss damages but also to purchase energy resilience equipment such as generators, solar panels, batteries, and microgrids to help them prepare for future outages, as well as to replace food and perishables lost due to power loss. This legislation, introduced on April 10, 2025, provides no specific funding amount or timeline but integrates prolonged power outages into the existing Small Business Administration disaster loan program.
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