What does life look like without working electricity? For some families on Navajo Nation, it means driving hours each week for water — or only buying groceries that fit in a portable cooler.
That’s why Austin Energy has participated in Light Up Navajo, a program that brings power to families without electricity in their homes, since 2022.
Over two weeks in April 2024, 16 Austin lineworkers installed ~10 miles of electrical lines + 78 electrical poles in Window Rock, Arizona, powering nine homes.
Edward Jodie, one of the electricians, was born on Navajo Nation before relocating to Austin.
He remembers visiting his grandparents on the reservation, who had no utilities, running water, or electricity at the time — which is still the reality for thousands of Navajo families.
Austin Energy plans to make another 2,000-mile round-trip journey to Navajo Nation later this year. Watch the project’s video.
