Post by ShivaTD on Apr 14, 2014 14:44:56 GMT
A news story today highlights that many Native-Americans have lived without electricity forever. A few choose not to have electricity but many do want it and for the vast majority of Americans electricity is something we simply take for granted but not for the Navajo people.
Electricity is a basic necessity in most people's lives but one that is considered a luxury on portions of the Navajo Nation. Across the 27,000 square-mile reservation that extends into Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, an estimated 15,000 homes do not have electricity, said Deenise Becenti, a spokeswoman for the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority.
Some Navajos prefer not to have electricity to maintain a traditional lifestyle. Others live miles apart, making it too expensive to connect each home, Becenti said.
"We can't ask families to live closer together, because they've lived on these lands for generations," she said.
The project in LeChee, a small community just outside of Page, came as the result of a mix of funding from federal grants, the tribal utility authority and the owners of the Navajo Generating Station run by the Salt River Project. The $4.8 million project that began in 2012 with a goal of connecting 63 homes is scheduled to be complete next year.
Yes, they should have electricity but the pricetag of $4.8 million for 63 homes simply doesn't make sense. That's over $76,000 per house!! A large generator can be purchased for between $10,000 and $15,000 and with the balance left over roughly $3,000 worth of fuel per year can be provided to run that generator forever. Not only that but because the cost is substantially lower per house and doesn't require being anywhere near a power station all of the 15,000 Navajo homes that don't have electricity could have cost effective electrical instead of just 63 homes. Obvously a more diversified approach of electrical production including wind, solar, generators and even small hydro-electric power in some places could be addressed based upon a cost-benefit analysis.
Why is it that we just throw money at projects as opposed to seeking the same results with less costly solutions? I'm not saying that my proposal is superior in all cases but apparently no alternatives to simply running power lines to a few remote homes were considered. They need the electricity so the problem is in providing that in a cost effective manner. Spending $76,000 per home just doesn't seem rational to me and it barely touches the surface of the problem of 15,000 homes without electricity when so much money is being spent on just 63 homes that are probably the least expensive to run power to.
