![]() Rural electric cooperatives serving parts of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas are among those receiving a total of $2.7 billion in federal funding. That support is coming out of the Department of Agriculture and is going to 64 individual projects in more than two dozen states. “This funding will help rural cooperatives and utilities invest in changes that make our energy more efficient, more reliable, and more affordable,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. The funds are specifically designed to help various sized rural cooperatives to build new smart grid technologies, as well as upgrade any technologies they may already have in place. In Colorado, the Buena Vista-based Sangre De Cristo Electric Association is receiving $26.8 million to build and upgrade nearly 200 miles of transmission lines. The Centennial state is also seeing $21.5 million going to the Morgan County Rural Electric Association for the building and upgrading of just over 300 miles of lines. The Rio Grande Electric Cooperative, with offices in Brackettville, Texas, is getting nearly $43 million in USDA funding for upgrading an existing 383 miles of lines and new smart grid technologies. The Rio Grande cooperative serves more than 15,000 customers in both southwest Texas and southern New Mexico. A press release issued by the Agriculture Department note that nearly half of the awards are targeting “infrastructure improvements in underserved communities.” By Garry Boulard
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