AUGUSTA – The Energy Conservation Division of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development announced Tuesday that it has reduced the interest rate for its energy loan program for small businesses.

“Given the current state of the economy and interest rates, we have decided to temporarily reduce the APR for our Energy Conservation Loan program from 5 to 3 percent,” said James F. Nimon, acting director of the Office of Business Development.

Last August, the Energy Conservation Division revived the loan program as an adjunct to its Small Business Energy Conservation Program, which provides free energy audits conducted on-site by trained specialists to help Maine’s small-business owners identify energy savings. The loan program was created to help small businesses actually implement energy efficiency improvements that are recommended as a result of the assessment.

“By dropping our rate to 3 percent we aim to attract the attention of small businesses interested in energy efficiency as well as demonstrate our commitment to stimulating business investment in this important area,” Nimon said.

DECD and the Maine Public Utilities Commission have developed a cooperative agreement to capitalize the loan program using the state’s Energy Conservation Program Fund, with a cap on loans at $35,000. The loan program defines small businesses as companies having 50 or fewer employees or $5 million or less in annual sales.

Maine businesses interested in accessing energy audits or energy loans should contact the Energy Conservation Division at 207-624-7495.