Fifteen projects to improve more than 1,844 miles of transmission and distribution lines in rural America will receive a total of $349 million in low-cost federal loans. The money will flow to rural electric cooperatives and utilities in 13 states, said the USDA. It includes $17 million for “smart grid” technology to make power systems more efficient and reliable. The loans also include $44 million to the Eastern Iowa Light and Power Cooperative to improve 350 miles of electric distribution lines – the largest loan ever by the USDA for distribution lines in Iowa. The department has supported rural electrification since 1935. Its Rural Utilities Service awarded $2.7 billion in electric loans last year.