Light Up Navajo is an annual aid program meant to help electrify rural and remote households across the largest reservation in the U.S. — with the project reaching a major milestone earlier this month.
With help from nearly four dozen public and private utility companies spanning 20 states, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority says this year's volunteers installed 41 miles of power lines and hooked up 196 homes — now surpassing 1,000 dwellings in all.
Crews near and far — like APS, SRP and Tucson Electric Power — lent helping hands.
Typically conducted over the summer months, Light Up Navajo began as a six-week pilot between NTUA and the American Public Power Association in 2019. Six years later, it’s now a 14-week endeavor starting in April.
The Southwest has long struggled with running electricity to off-grid tribal communities like the Navajo Nation. The tribe’s utility estimates about 10,000 residences — scattered across the sprawling 27,000-square-mile-reservation — remain in the dark.
