Utilities to Receive $22M to Upgrade Infrastructure

(stock image courtesy: Pixabay/Klaus Hamal)

Two utilities in Indiana are set to receive a combined $22 million in federal loans to help improve electric infrastructure and smart grid technologies.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the money is part of a $1.6 billion initiative to provide loans and loan guarantees to rural electric cooperatives and utilities.

The USDA says Jasper-based Dubois Rural Electric Cooperative is using $7 million to connect 720 consumers and build and improve 116 miles of line. The co-op will used about $232,000 for smart grid technologies, which uses digital communications to detect and react to local changes in electricity usage.

Tell City-based Southern Indiana power will use $15.5 million to install 670 miles of fiber-optic cable to

provide Smart Grid to approximately 2,636 subscribers within the distribution system.

Twenty-one states are receiving money in this round of funding. Click here to learn more.