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Light Up Navajo brings 150 homes online this year
Navajo Nation resident Sona Francis Shorthair, holding a meter box, is one of more than 100 residents who are getting power this year through the Light Up Navajo initiative.
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Shiprock resident Jerry Belin, of the Navajo Nation, has waited years to get power. His home got it this summer.
It’s one of about 150 homes in the Navajo Nation that are getting connected to the grid in this year’s iteration of Light Up Navajo. The annual project brings power to homes for the first time in the Navajo Nation.
About 10,400 families in the Navajo Nation lack electricity, according to the American Public Power Association. So, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority in 2019 coordinated with APPA to start Light Up Navajo, which has since brought power to more than 850 homes.
The initiative is accomplished through volunteer work, grants and donations, according to APPA. It has decreased the cost of connecting a rural home to the grid from $40,000 per household to $8,000 per household, according to the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority.
“It’s really nice of the other third-party contractors to come out and do all that for people,” Belin said in an interview. “I’ve got no complaints.”
He added that everyone from engineers to electricians was communicative about the timeline and how it all works.
Navajo Nation Resident Sona Francis Shorthair also received power. Her household has gone without it for 19 years.
“Our children have had to go on top of the mesa near our home to get a signal when they had to do their homework,” she said in a statement. “The work all of you have done, I really appreciate it. I’m very thankful, and have happy tears.”
She specifically thanked Public Service Company of New Mexico, one of dozens of utilities from around the nation that participated this year. Work started in April and will run through early August, a PNM spokesperson told the Journal.
“Light up Navajo has continued to restore hope and encourage our communities and our people that good people all over this country dedicate their time and resources to come out to Navajo for one week, two weeks, to really change lives,” Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said in a news release.
