Light Up Navajo

Join the Effort: Help Light Up the Navajo Nation in 2026

Did you know, in 2025, there are whole communities in the United States without power to their homes? Member utilities have a unique opportunity to help fix this by inviting your lineworkers to experience a project that blends teamwork, service and community impact. Missouri River Energy Services (MRES) is once again joining the national Light Up Navajo effort and this time doubling its commitment. The deadline is approaching fast. Get signed up by Dec. 12. For questions or to volunteer, scroll to the bottom of the page and fill out the form.

The MRES board of directors recently approved plans to expand participation in the project, coordinating a member-led effort to recruit two four-person line crews for each of the project’s first two weeks, set for April 12-18 and April 19-25, 2026. This will mark MRES’ largest volunteer effort yet and an incredible opportunity for members to be part of something that makes a lasting difference.

Often called “mutual aid without a storm,” the Light Up Navajo initiative was launched in 2019 by the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) and the American Public Power Association (APPA). Each year, public power utilities from across the country send lineworkers to the Navajo Nation to extend power to homes that have waited for years to be connected.

Missouri River’s participation in the 2025 project, Light Up Navajo VI, was a tremendous success. Five volunteer lineworkers from member utilities in Minnesota — two from ALP Utilities, one from Detroit Lakes Public Utilities and two from Westbrook Public Utilities (WPU) — and three lineworkers from MRES Distribution Maintenance crews spent a week along the Arizona-New Mexico border connecting four homes to electricity. The team also framed and set about 30 poles across 2.5 miles of rugged terrain. Their work was part of a larger national effort involving more than 200 lineworkers from 44 utilities. Together, those crews powered up more than 200 homes in four months during Light Up Navajo VI. Yet, despite that progress, NTUA estimates that around 10,000 homes on the Navajo Nation remain without electricity, so the need is still great.

“It’s a life-changing experience for everyone involved. It’s life-changing for people receiving power for the first time, and it’s life-changing for volunteers, because you definitely get more from the experience than what you put into it. Everyone down there is so thankful. From the people at the hotel to restaurants in town, they all know why you’re there and what you’re doing, and they’re all so appreciative. It’s a big issue to them.”

—WPU Superintendent Dan Joel

Both journey and apprentice lineworkers are invited to volunteer. The project also doubles as an excellent training opportunity, helping apprentices complete overhead work hours while gaining hands-on mutual aid experience. Member utilities can send a single lineworker, a pair or a infull crew. Participating members cover labor and travel costs for their volunteers, while NTUA provides lodging and a daily meal stipend.

If more volunteers sign up than needed, a random drawing will fill the available slots, with priority given to members and lineworkers who haven’t yet participated.

MRES is currently requesting volunteers for up to 16 available spots.

To see the impact for yourself, watch the Light Up Navajo VI video from this past spring and see how MRES members are bringing light and hope to the Navajo Nation, one home at a time.