ARIZONA, USA — This morning crews from Salt River Project (SRP) left Tempe to head to the Navajo Nation, where they will join more than a dozen other utilities on a humanitarian mission.
For the next few weeks, two SRP crews will be providing electricity to Arizona families living without power and running water, in the effort to Light Up Navajo.
This year, 14 SRP employees will have an opportunity to participate through April 22nd.
Families who have received electricity in years past are more than grateful.
"It overwhelms my heart, that people from all different places are here to help me… it makes me want to scream with happiness,” said Fannie Shorthair, who lives on the Navajo Nation.
This effort marks the fourth time for the mutual-aid initiative, organized by the American Public Power Association and the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority.
SRP’s first wave of line crews left Tempe on Saturday, to begin setting miles of wooden distribution poles and stringing conductor through the vast Navajo Nation.
The effort to energize the Navajo Nation is powerful. The Light Up Navajo project has connected 780 homes to the power grid since its launch in 2019, and SRP employees have directly provided power to 98 families so far. About 14,000 Navajo Nation homes remain without power.
SRP line workers hope to energize their first home during this trip on Monday.
For more information about Light Up Navajo, go to: https://www.publicpower.org/LightUpNavajo
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on our 12News YouTube playlist here.