Extreme summer and winter temperatures in northern Arizona and northwest New Mexico, can pose significant challenges for those living on the Navajo Nation, where electricity is not as easy as flipping on a light switch. Jason Hatch, Snowflake-based APS Transmission and Distribution Supervisor, knows this all too well.
Jason has been involved in a project called Light Up Navajo since its inception in 2019. That’s when the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) put out a call for electric providers across America to support the effort to bring electricity to the more than 10,000 homes on the reservation that have never had electricity. Jason helps coordinate crews that include lineworkers and hole diggers to support the cause.
When APS line crews finished extending the service to one home in particular, a woman living there approached Jason to thank him and the team for their support. She told him her life would be so much easier in the winter now that she could stay in her home to keep warm. She shared that previously, on the coldest nights, she had to go to her car and turn on the engine to warm up.
“This initiative makes you appreciate what we so often take for granted,” said Hatch. “It may be hard to imagine but these people have not had power for generations – ever. They are proud, but humble and deeply grateful – the kind of people it is most gratifying to help.”
Each year, Light Up Navajo brings electric service to nearly 500 homes with the help of dedicated workers. The APS team of six spent a week near Leupp in April and another week in the Fort Defiance/Crystal area in May extending the line. In all, the APS crew installed 60,275 feet of electrical wire, dug 87 holes, set 59 power poles and delivered electricity to 17 families whose lives are now forever changed in a good way.
Historically, progress has been slow because of the high cost of connecting isolated rural households to the grid, the sensitivity of families to utility costs and the limited availability of government loans. Light Up Navajo expedites the process and since its inception has supplied power to about 3,000 homes.
A highlight each year for the individuals working on this project is a thank you dinner where the line crews share a meal with the residents of the newly electrified homes.
“It is a heartwarming event,” said Hatch. “Our jobs are inherently fulfilling because we get the chance to bring electricity to people under every kind of condition, especially in times of need. This project Is special. It is work none of us are likely to ever forget.”
