Utility companies from across the U.S. are set to travel to the Navajo Nation for the fourth installment of a project to bring electricity to homes in rural areas.
Light up Navajo began as a pilot project in the spring of 2019 and workers have since connected 780 homes to the grid despite having to cancel the project in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s project, spearheaded by the American Public Power Association and the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, begins Saturday and involves 20 utilities from several states.
Work is slated to continue through June. It’s estimated that as much as 30 percent of homes on the Navajo Nation don’t have electricity.