For the second year in a row, Trico sent line crews to a remote area of the Navajo Nation to participate in the Light Up Navajo program. This mutual-aid program began in 2019 to extend electricity to homes without power.

Trico lineworkers Anthony Anaya, Bryan English, Joe Tsethlikai, Martin Mares, Matt Ward and Troy Mead spent two weeks working in Naschitti, New Mexico to bring power to those in need.

“I’ll go back every year until everyone has electricity or I’m dead,” English said. “I’m happy to give back.”

Trico’s crews built 3.5 miles of line and put up 40 poles to feed power to nine homes. “The conditions were not great,” Tsethlikai said. “We had to use special pressure diggers. It took one to two hours to dig one hole. For the people to live there without power is mind blowing.”

Tsethlikai said they met an 80-year-old Vietnam War veteran who never had electricity except for his time in the Marines. 

“This is history in the making,” Tsethlikai said. “This is generational. We’re not just bringing power to these nine homes. This is something that is going to be there forever. Their children and future generations will benefit from what we’re doing.”

Brian Heithoff, Trico CEO/GM said, “The work to provide the residents of the Navajo Nation a reliable source of energy is vital to providing them a brighter future, and reflects the co-op spirit that helped electrify Trico’s service territory starting almost 80 years ago.”

Ward said he was honored to be selected to participate in Light Up Navajo. “It was an extremely humbling experience. You would never guess that people still to this day continue to live without what we consider to be basic necessities, such as running water, electricity, etc. To know that I was able to be a part of changing someone’s life by providing power alone is very honoring. The work experience along with meeting the homeowners is amazing. They taught us the Navajo language and they are some of the friendliest people.”

Anaya said “the whole experience made me grateful for the life I live with my family and everything Trico has provided for me. Hopefully I get the opportunity to do it again next year.”

Ann Nadeau thanked Trico for “what you are doing for the Navajo Nation. These residents need to be cool. The crews are heroes.”

Trico was the first cooperative in the state of Arizona to participate in the mutual-aid program last year. According to the American Public Power Association, of the approximately 55,000 homes on the Navajo Nation, nearly 14,000 still do not have electricity. They represent 75% of all U.S. households without power.

Learn more at https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/03/us/navajo-nation-power-grid-connection/index.html.