Living in the United States of America most people take electricity and power in their homes for granted. But many people in the U.S. still live day to day without access to electricity.
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ROCHELLE – Living in the United States of America most people take electricity and power in their homes for granted. But many people in the U.S. still live day to day without access to electricity.
This was the case for 15,000 individuals on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation that spreads across Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, but thanks to the work of some dedicated Rochelle Municipal Utilities staff members those numbers are being reduced.
In an effort to bring electricity to many homes that have never had power before, the City of Rochelle launched the #LightupNavajo initiative. The Navajo reservation, which is home to roughly 350,000 individuals, makes up 75 percent of the people in the U.S. living without power.
Jason Bird, superintendent of electric operations for Rochelle Municipal Utilities, explains how a speech given by a close friend and Navajo tribe member at the national conference really shed light on the need to help.
“The city manager and I were at the national conference in 2018 and Walter Haase, CEO of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, got up and gave a speech,” Bird said. “I have known Wally for 25 plus years and you could see the pain in his face and his heart that his custumers were suffering.”
After attending the conference Bird brought the plan up to the city council and it was approved in December of 2018. The plan was to send four workers out to the Navajo reservation from March 22 through April 20 to install electrical poles and lines to bring power to as many families as possible.
“We set approximately 110 poles, built 7 and a half miles of line and hooked up 25 customers to power for the first time in their life,” explained Bird.