Arizona will receive federal money to improve electricity infrastructure in rural areas. It is one of 25 states benefitting from the funds, and those states include neighboring Utah and New Mexico, which will all get the funds through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service Program.
The money will fund projects like those of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, which serves rural electric consumers in the three states. The utility will receive nearly $168 million to build more than 1,200 miles of line, invest in smart grid technologies and make other system improvements. Federal officials said nearly 3,800 rural electric consumers in the three states will see direct benefits from the investment.
