Louisiana public power utility Lafayette Utilities System recently received approval from the Lafayette, La., City Council to donate 130 poles to the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority as part of the Light Up Navajo initiative.
The poles are the same poles used in the 2024 APPA Lineworkers Rodeo that LUS hosted.
“LUS is happy to participate in donating these poles to the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority,” said Jeffrey Stewart, P. E., LUS Director. “Years ago, NTUA launched a ‘Light Up Navajo’ initiative with the American Public Power Association to bring electricity to those who do not have what we consider to be an essential service. LUS hopes this donation will help expedite electrification projects in the Navajo Nation and create a better quality of life for its residents.”
“Navajo families often live on ancestral homesteads that are located miles away from neighboring homes and miles further from tribal communities. Our average customer density is 4 homes per mile, producing the lowest number of utility customers per mile in the U.S. As a result, it is often cost-prohibitive to provide utility services to these individual homes,” said NTUA General Manager Walter Haase. “This generous donation will certainly help to benefit families still waiting for electric service, especially with the Light Up Navajo initiative.”
NTUA on July 29 announced another successful Light Up Navajo mutual aid initiative. NTUA in partnership with APPA on April 7 officially launched Light Up Navajo V, a project to extend electric service to Navajo Nation households. The project concluded 13 weeks later on July 19.
This year, NTUA welcomed 48 utility teams from 16 different states to work alongside NTUA electric crews. Overall – the combined teams connected 170 homes to the electric grid for the very first time. On average, 13 homes were connected each week with 4.2 miles of new powerline built.
