The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced it is investing $900 million to build, preserve or improve rural electric infrastructure across 16 states.

The financing is provided through the Electric Loan Program. It will help build and improve 2,743 miles of line to strengthen reliability in rural areas benefiting 1.1 million rural residents and businesses.

The States receiving funding under this announcement are Arkansas, California, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota and Virginia.

The loans include $17 million for investments in smart grid technology that uses digital communications to detect and react to local changes in electricity usage.

Source: USDA