SRP Crews Depart Saturday to Help Bring Electricity to Remote Homes on the Navajo Nation

WHAT:

On April 5, Salt River Project (SRP) will send two crews to the Navajo Nation to join line workers from 44 utility companies across 20 states to bring electricity to families through the Light Up Navajo VI project. Fourteen SRP employees will help connect homes to the grid in remote areas of the Navajo Nation, where 75 percent of all U.S. households without power are located. Light Up Navajo has provided electricity to more than 889 homes since the program started in 2019. SRP’s portion of the project will conclude on April 20. 

WHEN/WHERE:

• Saturday, April 5 at 7 a.m. SRP Line Crews will depart at 7:30 a.m.  
• SRP Tempe Service Center, 110 W. Elliot Road, Tempe, AZ 85283
  (Media must provide identification to pass through a secured entrance.)  
• Arrive as early as 6:30 a.m. to capture footage of crews loading vehicles, conduct interviews with participants, and record the caravan of large bucket trucks and SRP vehicles pulling out. Morning live shots are available. 

Media planning to attend should contact Marisol Peláez at (602) 471-9676 and plan to arrive no later than 7 a.m. 

VISUALS: 

• Crews loading vehicles and preparing the caravan of SRP trucks and vehicles to leave for the Navajo Nation.  
• Interviews with SRP linemen; morning live shots available.  

DETAILS:

• There are around 56,000 homes in the Navajo Nation. Approximately 10,470 (around 25%) homes do not have electricity.  
• SRP is donating manpower and equipment to the project. 
• This is the sixth year of the program and the fifth year that SRP is sending crews to connect homes to the grid. 
• This year, SRP crews will be working in the Dilkon District and near the community of Leupp, east of Flagstaff. 
• Last year, SRP crews installed 137 poles, 16 transformers, and 82,467 feet of electrical line to bring electricity to 17 homes. 
• The program is jointly organized by the American Public Power Association (APPA) and the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA), the public power utility serving the Navajo Nation.  

About NTUA  
In 1959, NTUA started out as a small water utility in Shiprock, NM. In decades since, NTUA has grown into the largest multi-utility enterprise owned and operated by an American Indian tribe. NTUA is proud of its history and celebrates its progress. As a not-for-profit enterprise of the Navajo Nation, NTUA provides electric, water, wastewater, natural gas, off-grid residential solar, renewable energy generation, and communications services. NTUA takes deep pride in its work and maintains the commitment to provide the multi-utility needs of the Navajo Nation. In Navajo, the phrase “Niandeiilnish” means “We work for You.” In keeping with that principle, NTUA works for the People with teamwork and respect which has been the primary mission since 1959.  

About APPA  
The American Public Power Association is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide. APPA represents public power before the federal government to protect the interests of the more than 49 million people that public power utilities serve, and the 93,000 people they employ. APPA advocates and advises on electricity policy, technology, trends, training and operations. The members strengthen their communities by providing superior service, engaging citizens and instilling pride in community-owned power.  

About SRP 
SRP is a community-based, not-for-profit public power utility and the largest electricity provider in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, serving about 1.1 million customers. SRP provides water to about 2.5 million Valley residents, delivering more than 244 billion gallons of water (750,000 acre-feet) each year, and manages a 13,000-square-mile watershed that includes an extensive system of reservoirs, wells, irrigation laterals, and 131 miles of canals.