Associated Press
HALCHITA, Utah (AP) — After a lengthy five-year wait, Lorraine Black and Ricky Gillis finally heard the familiar sounds of an electrical crew arriving at their home, nestled in the expansive and rugged terrain of the Navajo Nation.
In just five days, their lives would be transformed as their home was set to be connected to the power grid, eliminating their dependence on a few solar panels and sporadic propane lanterns for light and electricity. For the first time, Gillis, who suffers from sleep apnea, would no longer face interruptions with his CPAP machine, which requires a steady power supply. Additionally, his home heart monitor would reliably transmit critical health information to doctors located over 400 miles away. The new electric connection would also allow Black and Gillis to use multiple household appliances simultaneously, including a refrigerator, a television, and an evaporative cooling unit, dramatically improving their quality of life.
“We’re one of the luckiest people who get to get electric,” Gillis expressed with palpable gratitude.
However, many Navajo families remain in dire circumstances, living without basic amenities like running water and electricity. This lack of access is the result of systemic neglect and complicated logistical challenges in providing services to remote homes spread across the vast 27,000-square-mile (70,000-square-kilometer) Native American reservation which extends through parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Some families rely on unreliable solar panels or generators for power, while others are entirely disconnected from the grid.
Gillis and Black had filed their application to connect their home back in 2019, but their journey was further delayed when the coronavirus pandemic struck, forcing the reservation to shut down all but essential services, including those needed for electrical infrastructure.
Their prolonged wait underscores the ongoing challenges that must be addressed to electrify every home on the reservation. Recent infusions of federal funding aimed at boosting tribal infrastructure, alongside increasing instances of extreme heat exacerbated by climate change, have only intensified the urgency for solutions.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is part of a series examining how tribes and Indigenous communities are confronting and adapting to climate change.
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“We are a part of America that a lot of the time feels kind of left out,” said Vircynthia Charley, the district manager at the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority. This non-profit utility provides essential services including electric, water, wastewater, natural gas, and solar energy to residents across the reservation.
The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority has been striving to expedite the connection of more homes to the grid. Under the initiative dubbed “Light Up Navajo,” a collaborative program that leverages both private and public financing, utility crews from across the United States are dispatched to help connect homes and expand power lines.
Yet, establishing electrical connections on the reservation—an area comparable in size to West Virginia—proves to be a costly and time-intensive endeavor. The rugged terrain and vast distances between homes complicate logistics. Drilling for power poles can take several hours due to substantial underground rock formations, and certain locations near Monument Valley must have power lines installed underground to comply with strict regulations governing land development in the area.
Currently, approximately 32% of Navajo homes remain without electricity. The estimated cost to connect the remaining 10,400 houses on the reservation stands at a staggering $416 million, according to Deenise Becenti, the government and public affairs manager at the utility.
This year, the “Light Up Navajo” initiative successfully connected 170 additional families to the grid. Since its inception in 2019, the program has electrified a total of 882 Navajo families’ homes. If the initiative maintains its funding, Becenti projected that it could take up to an additional 26 years to connect every remaining home on the reservation.
Those fortunate enough to receive electrical connections experience immediate benefits to their daily lives. Until this month, Black and Gillis had relied heavily on limited solar panels installed by the utility a few years prior. These panels would only sustain their energy needs for about two to three days before the battery would deplete during cloudy periods, necessitating another two days for recharging.
“You had to really watch the watts and whatever you’re using on a cloudy day,” Gillis recalled, emphasizing the constant vigilance required.
A volunteer power crew from Colorado played a crucial role in their connection, assisting by installing 14 power poles while the tribal utility authority dug deep six-foot holes for their placement. The crew then painstakingly extended a wire nearly a mile down a dusty red sand road from the main power line to the couple’s residence.
“The lights are brighter,” Black exclaimed joyfully after the connection was completed, highlighting the drastic change in their living situation.
In recent years, significantly increased federal funding has been allocated to help tribes improve reservation infrastructure. This includes $32 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, with the Navajo Nation receiving $112 million specifically designated for electrical connections. Moreover, the Navajo tribal utility also received $17 million through the Biden administration’s climate legislation, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, to further assist in connecting families to the electric grid. However, translating that funding into real-world improvements can be sluggish due to bureaucratic obstacles and logistical challenges.
Next spring, the tribal utility authority aims to connect another 150 homes, including the property of Priscilla and Leo Dan.
For this couple, securing grid electricity at their dwelling near Navajo Mountain in Arizona would finally conclude a frustrating nearly 12-year quest. Currently, they reside in a recreational vehicle closer to their jobs, while continuing to work on their long-time home on the reservation. With electricity, they envision a life where they can spend more time at the home where Priscilla was raised and where her father still resides.
It would undoubtedly simplify their lives, Priscilla reflected. “Because otherwise, everything, it seems like, takes twice as long to do.”
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Naishadham reported from Washington.
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