For some small businesses, the gas shut-off meant nearly a week without any income. Rhode Island is now offering up to $25,000 loans to businesses for immediate expenses.
“We want to help you get quick access to capital so you can get back up on your feet,” Governor Gina Raimondo said at a press conference in Newport Monday. “Especially in many cases small businesses are waiting for insurance claims, waiting for Grid claims, so this is meant to be kind of a bridge loan so you can stay in business.”
A $1.45-million dollar fund was created in partnership with the state Commerce Corporation, the Rhode Island Foundation, and Bank Newport, to provide the loans. The loans require no payment and accrue no interest for the first six months; a four percent interest rate will apply after the grace period.
Commerce Corporation staff will be stationed in Newport to help businesses looking to apply for the loans. According to the Governor’s office, the applications will be expedited.
“My office with the [Newport] mayor, with the Chamber, is going to be doing broader outreach to the small business community to really get a hands around, how big is the problem, what is the magnitude, what kind of expenses are there,” Raimondo said.
According to early estimates from the Newport County Chamber of Commerce some 400 businesses were likely affected, from independent freelancers, to bars and restaurants, to the mom-and-pop shops that dot the island.
The state Department of Labor and Training is also offering, emergency unemployment insurance to for workers who lost pay as a result of the shut-off.
Also on Monday, National Grid announced a $500,000 fund to provide grants to businesses in the community. The grants will be processed through LISC Rhode Island, the Local Initiatives Support Coalition.
“We recognize our equal responsibility in supporting the business community that we are a dedicated member of,” said Terry Sobolewski, Chief Customer Office and SVP, National Grid, US. “We are now entering the economic restoration phase.”
