Navajo Tribal Utility Authority®
2024 Light Up Navajo V is Underway
Over 250 electric line workers will be traveling to the Navajo Nation over the next few months to help connect the home of Navajo families to the electric grid. The goal is to connect at least 200 homes. Visiting line workers will be working with NTUA electric crews. The visiting crews represent utilities located in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Oklahoma, Utah, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.
In 2023, 26 utility companies from 16 states sent their electric crews to be part of Light Up Navajo III and extended electric power to 159 homes from April to July.
“We are grateful for the outside utilities who want to help bring positive change for families waiting for electricity,” said NTUA General Manager Walter Haase. “The communities these utilities represent learned about our challenges and were prompted to be a part of this dramatically meaningful project.”
Light Up Navajo was created through a partnership with American Public Power Association (APPA). APPA has a mutual aid program that sends electric crews to areas hit by natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes. When those events take place, utility companies would send crews to those regions to assist with power restoration. The concept was presented to members of the APPA.
Light Up Navajo has become a unique mutual aid initiative by bringing together utility companies that represent Public Power, Rural Cooperatives, and Independent System Operators, such as the Public Service Company of New Mexico and Arizona Public Service.
“Together, the visiting line workers will help to provide families with the basic modern conveniences made possible by electricity, such as lighting, heating, air conditioning, and refrigerated food. With electricity the families can also prepare for water and broadband services,” Haase said. “Light Up Navajo fulfills the ultimate goal of to help make life easier and helps lift burden for so many families.”
Applications for Light Up Navajo
Ya’aa’teeh. Thank you for your interest in Light Up Navajo, a mutual-aid program to extend electricity to homes without. You can get the process started by filling out a basic inquiry form - click here.
NTUA will follow-up with an email to you and the respective District Office. A Customer Care Agent will contact you and explain the application process. You can also stop by your local NTUA District office to submit a formal application. Here’s a link to the document listing what information and forms will be required – click here.
Should you have relatives, friends, or community members who do not have electricity - encourage them to apply for Light Up Navajo.
Voices from the Field
Electric line workers from throughout the United States have traveled to the Navajo Nation to help connect the homes of Navajo families to the electric grid. The Light Up Navajo project not only made a positive life changing impact on families, but it also provided a powerful impression on the lineworkers. This video shares their thoughts. NTUA thanks these line workers for volunteering to help our families.
In 2019 the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority partnered with the American Public Power Association (APPA) to create an innovative, pioneering project called Light Up Navajo. The goal was to connect Navajo homes to the electric grid. There were 138 visiting lineworkers who traveled to Navajo Nation – for the six week pilot project. Electricity was extended to 233 regional families. The success of the pilot project has paved a path for future Light Up Navajo projects. Click here to see what the 2019 Light Up Navajo project was all about.
Navajo Tribal Utility Authority • P.O. Box 170, Fort Defiance, AZ 86504 • Phone: 1-800-528-5011 Copyright © 2024 NTUA - A proud Enterprise of the Navajo Nation
