Austin Energy crews help bring power to Navajo Nation families [Video]

AUSTIN, Texas — Sixteen Austin Energy crew members recently traveled nearly 2,000 miles round trip to Window Rock, Arizona, to help provide power to Navajo Nation families. For lineman Edward Jodie, it was an especially rewarding experience.

According to Austin Energy, Jodie was born on the Navajo Nation, in Fort Defiance, Arizona. He lived there until he was five, when he moved to Phoenix with his family. 

Jodie remembers visiting his grandparents on the reservation, where they had no utilities, including electricity or running water. He said his grandmother would place solar panels on the roof to charge old car batteries, which she would use to power lamps at night.

Eventually, his grandparents received utilities – but Austin Energy said thousands of Navajo families still don’t have access to those …