Amid Arizona's booming data center industry, thousands of Navajo Nation residents remain without electricity, while utilities prioritize meeting corporate power demands.
Pranshu Verma reports for The Washington Post.
In short:
- Navajo Nation residents like Thomasina Nez live without electricity, struggling to meet basic needs while power companies serve data centers.
- Arizona’s utility board rejected a $4 million plan to bring electricity to Navajo Nation, but approved an 8% rate hike to fund infrastructure for growing power demands.
- Data centers consume a significant share of Arizona’s electricity, pushing utilities to revive coal and gas plants despite environmental concerns.
Key quote:
“We’ve been without [power] for quite a long time… for them to get more power, it’s kind of not right.”
— Thomasina Nez, Navajo Nation resident
Why this matters:
The energy demands of Big Tech are exacerbating existing inequities, leaving vulnerable communities, like many on the Navajo Nation, without basic services. With utilities focused on profits and corporate customers, many residents face health risks, high costs and environmental damage.
Related EHN coverage: LISTEN: What would a just energy transition look like for US tribes?
