SRP, a community-based, not-for-profit public power utility and an electricity provider in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, announced that its line crews spent two weeks in remote areas of the Navajo Nation working in extreme weather conditions to bring electricity to nine homes in the areas of Leupp, Dilkon and Cornfields, as part of the Light Up Navajo (LUN) VI initiative.
LUN brings together electric utilities from across the country to help accelerate the process of bringing power to the Navajo Nation.
SRP crews installed 153 poles, 8 transformers and 84,493 feet of electrical line to energize the nine homes. The work required digging in rough terrain, and in some areas, it took up to three hours to dig the hole required to set a power pole.
"This is my first year working on this project, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Bringing electricity to the area and seeing people’s faces light up once we turn on their power is an indescribable feeling,” said Thomas Gerbig, SRP Lineman. "Working in this area was challenging, since we are working under extreme conditions such as strong wind, dust and we even got nine inches of snow."
According to estimates, bringing electricity to the Navajo Nation will take more than 50 years without the support of public utility companies.
In 2025, LUN VI brought together 45 electric companies from 20 states and expects more than 200 families to have access to safe and reliable energy by August. The Light Up Navajo initiative covers 14 weeks. SRP has installed 805 wood poles, strung 424,463 feet of wire, set 98 transformers, and provided reliable power to 128 families for the first time.
