USDA invests $2.5 billion in rural electric infrastructure

There are 27 states that are hoping the USDA’s newest job-creation initiative will help to boost their economic futures. Well, more power to them.

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced that his agency is investing $2.5 billion toward rural electric infrastructure improvements — the money doesn’t come from grants, however. They will be in the form of loans in each state.

The states that’ll benefit are Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming

“These significant investments will help develop and maintain modern, reliable electric infrastructure that businesses and rural communities need in a 21st Century economy,” Perdue said. “The loans I am announcing today will help utilities and cooperatives build new transmission and distribution lines, upgrade networks and facilities, and better manage the power grid.”