The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority recently announced the successful conclusion of the 2026 Light Up Navajo VII electrification initiative, resulting in 269 homes of Navajo families connected to the electric grid for the very first time.
For 14 weeks starting in mid-April, NTUA hosted electric line crews representing 51 utility companies from 24 states, marking the largest number of utilities participating in one Light Up Navajo (LUN) season.
This year, NTUA also welcomed Delta Company 249th Engineering Battalion Prime Power, a team from the U.S. Army, marking the first time a military Reservist unit has joined the effort to extend electricity to homes on the Navajo Nation.
Each year, Light Up Navajo families anxiously wait for visiting line crews. The excitement often ends with heartfelt tears, as it did at the Arizona home of Judy Crank, NTUA noted.
After visiting line workers energized her one-room home, Crank happily plugged in her refrigerator. She heard the hum of electricity and said, “It’s on.” She opened the refrigerator doors and saw the bright lights of an empty refrigerator. She started to cry. Line workers stood by quietly, not sure how to react. The emotions were so strong that they didn’t want to talk about it afterwards. All they said is that it was a moment they would never forget, NTUA noted.
“This is what Light Up Navajo is all about,” said NTUA General Manager Walter Haase. “It changes lives, not only for the families who have been waiting, but for the visiting line workers who witness how their skills have made a powerful difference.”
The 2026 visiting crews represent utilities and organizations located in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Virginia.
“We are deeply grateful to utility companies for sending electric line crews to dramatically improve the standard of life for families who have wait far too long for electric power,” Haase said. “They understood our reality as well as our challenge and the belief that every American family deserves connection to electricity power.”
LUN launched in 2019 in partnership with the American Public Power Association to create a unique mutual aid initiative to connect homes on the Navajo Nation to electric grid within an expedited timeframe.
Planning and organization are currently underway for Light Up Navajo VIII, which is slated to begin in April 2027. For more information, contact: lightup-navajoproject@ntua.com.
