Service Beyond Borders: CoServ Crews Electrifying Homes in Navajo Nation

This summer, a group of CoServ linemen and support crews will participate in Light Up Navajo, a humanitarian mission to bring electricity to remote areas of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

The first group will leave as a convoy before the sun comes up on May 29, driving an estimated 900 miles to Tuba City, Arizona, where they will be based. From there, they will receive their assignments, working 12-hour days in hot, rugged conditions setting poles, running wire and electrifying homes.

A week later, a second group will fly in to relieve them. That group will continue the mission for another week, then drive back to Texas. All 22 CoServ Employees are the perfect example of CoServ’s Core Values, bringing life-changing electricity to Americans – the very principle that CoServ was founded on in 1937.

Power Quality Troubleman Matt Honea jumped at the chance.

“One of the biggest joys I get out of being a lineman is providing power to people,” Matt said. “When storms roll in and everybody is out of power and we come rolling in behind the storm and start turning the lights back on – this amplifies that feeling beyond anything I could ever imagine.”

The Light Up Navajo project involves 70 utilities from 24 states. The mutual aid effort is led by the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, which provides easements, engineering, poles, wire and materials, as well as food and housing for utility workers.

An estimated 9,390 homes do not have electricity in the Navajo Nation. Over 75% of all households without electricity in the United States today are in the Navajo Nation. Many of these families rely on wood and coal for heat and cooking while using kerosene lamps for lighting. They also drive long distances for water, ice and food.

Without Light Up Navajo, it could take another 50 years for these Americans to receive electricity.

Linemen Crew Supervisor Jeshua Price is part of the second wave of crews. He knows the work ahead of them will be difficult, but it’s also rewarding. He’s worked multiple severe weather events and is a Marine Corp. veteran.

“Tough situations bring you together. Being out there, you’re with each other 24/7 and you all have the same goal,” Jeshua said. “It’s going to be an experience that we talk about for years.”

Check back on this page or follow us on Facebook and Instagram for photos and updates about our Light Up Navajo progress!