Westerville Electric Helps "Light Up Navajo"

Three hundred households on the Navajo Nation have electricity for the first time thanks, in part, to a small crew from the Westerville Electric Division (WED). Line crew supervisor JJ Savage, apprentice lineworker Courtney Bailey and utility arborist Joe Delong traveled more than 1,600 miles to spend a week helping connect homes in Kayenta, Arizona to the power grid.

“It’s probably some of the more meaningful work I’ll ever get to do. I’m very blessed to work in a place like [Westerville] that allows me to showcase my skill set and knowledge to help other communities,” said Savage, a 14-year veteran of WED. “That’s one of the reasons I got into linework, I enjoy helping people.”

The “Light Up Navajo” initiative is a unique mutual aide program and partnership between the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) and the American Public Power Association (APPA, of which Westerville is a member). Westerville is part of the third wave of public power lineworkers from across the country to participate in the program.

Westerville’s crew worked side-by-side with NTUA lineworkers for 12-hours a day building power lines in the Arizona desert. Savage says the heat was surprisingly mild, but the wind was another story.

“For three days we had 20-mile-per-hour winds with gusts of 50- 60 mph. So it would pick up sand, and this is like hourglass sand,” Savage said. “We were getting pelted the last few days.”

Savage says the elements were well worth withstanding for the lifechanging impact they were able to have on the Navajo residents.

One resident was so grateful that he invited Savage, Bailey and Delong to his home to witness him turning on his electronics for the first time with power from the grid.

“He built his house 30 years ago and this was the first time his home had been energized. He was 57 and this was the first time he’s lived in a home with electricity,” Savage said.

Savage learned that many Navajo residents had to travel more than an hour to their nearest grocery store several times a week because they only had coolers for food storage.

The APPA and NTUA continue their mission to connect Navajo residents to the grid. Visit www.ntua.com to learn more about Light Up Navajo.

In photo:

(From left) Navajo Nation resident Philip Cooliee, NTUA lineworker Leonard Atena, Westerville utility arborist Joe Delong, line crew supervisor JJ Savage, lineworker Courtney Bailey and NTUA lineworker Emery Young.

Photo by Alysa Landry for APPA