The Navajo Nation is spending close to $2 million to maintain access to a transmission line that once carried power from a coal plant to western states.
The Navajo Generating Station near Page shut down in November.
The tribe has acquired a 500-megawatt transmission line as part of an agreement with the owners of the power plant. The tribe recently approved the use of $1.9 million to pay for the annual costs of the line. The money goes to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez says the tribe could use the transmission line or market it.