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The Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation (DEMEC) sent four lineworkers (two from the Town of Smyrna and two from the City of Milford) to the Navajo Nation to power homes that have never had electricity. DEMEC is joining crews from other community-owned electric utilities across the nation in an effort known as “Light Up Navajo.” This is a pilot initiative of the American Public Power Association to support electrification efforts by the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, the public power utility serving the Navajo Nation. “We are proud to help power homes in the Navajo Nation on behalf of our community as a part of this historical initiative. Our members were eager to help when they heard about the situation,” said Kimberly Schlichting, COO – SVP Power Supply for DEMEC. “That is the true spirit of public power — helping each other in times of need and powering communities together.” Of the 55,000 homes located on the 27,000 square mile Navajo Nation (roughly the size of West Virginia), approximately 15,000 homes do not have electricity. These represent 75% of all U.S. households that do not have electricity. “It is shocking that in this day and age, there are still so many homes in the U.S. without electricity,” said Mike Hyland, SVP Engineering and Operations at the American Public Power Association. “The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority has worked hard in recent years to power 3,000 homes. Now, with help from the national public power community, they can do much more. We are touched by the support being offered from so many of our member utilities.” Volunteer utility crews from across the country will travel to the Navajo Nation and help build power lines from April 6 to May 18. DEMEC’s crew arrived at the Navajo Nation on Saturday, April 13th and will return home on Saturday, April 20th. DEMEC would like to thank the following lineworkers that donated their time away from their families and communities: Joshua Little, Town of Smyrna; Zack Nellams, Town of Smyrna; Gary Johnston, City of Milford; and Rob Palladino, City of Milford. A special thank you to former Senator Gary Simpson of Milford and the IBEW for their donations that helped make this effort possible. To help or learn more about the Light Up Navajo initiative visit www.publicpower.org/lightupnavajo.