Arizona tribe’s power failure compared to developing world

The leader of an Arizona tribe has compared a recent power outage experienced by his community to that seen in a developing world country.

On Tuesday, Arizona’s San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler issued a statement in response to a recent power outage experienced by the tribe that left part of its reservation without power for a day due to a storm.

“This kind of electrical failure is usually equated with developing countries, not the United States,” he said in the statement.

Residents and businesses in the area are frequently left without power due to routine failures of the transmission line, according to tribal officials. Saturday’s outage was particularly disruptive, cutting off mobile phone service, shutting down two community wells, and forcing the local hospital to rely on a backup generator, the tribe reported.

On Sunday, residents on the reservation were assisted by a tribal emergency team who provided water and ice to those without power.

In his statement, Rambler said that the tribe has continued to ask federal officials for improved transmission lines on the reservation. Rambler also noted that he’s set to meet with U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Debra Haaland to discuss ways to prevent similar outages in the future.

The transmission line, is located in a remote area near the Coolidge Dam and Winkelman. The line has been in operation since 1924 after it was originally built as part of the San Carlos Irrigation Project by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to supply electricity to both reservation and nonreservation residents, as well as to provide irrigation water and pumping services for private landowners.

In a similar statement posted to Facebook, Rambler said, “I am very saddened by the recent 24-hour power outage for tribal members who are receiving services from the San Carlos Irrigation Project (SCIP). This has caused extreme hardship for our people.”

“Our Tribe needs the additional transmission line. A new line coming through the Globe area and located near Highway 70 will make it much easier to respond to and fix power outage issues. We are setting up a meeting with BIA to start these discussions again. Our Council will reach out to our congressional representatives to help put pressure on BIA/SCIP. We will be meeting with BIA soon. We are also scheduling a meeting with U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and will demand that we immediately agree to and fund a solution,” he said.

From 2010 to 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Indian Energy has invested more than $120 million to tribal funding projects in hopes to promote clean energy and help these tribes avoid any similar situations of power outages.