Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye and Vice President Jonathan Nez addressed employees of the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) at the LeChee Chapter House in Page, Ariz.
President Begaye gave a full history regarding the history of the Navajo Generating Station as well as many of the lease discussions that have taken place to date with a focus to meeting the July 1st deadline for the lease extension negotiation. A thorough discussion took place followed by a brief question and answer period. Several members in attendance stressed that they didn’t want to break up their families by the job loss and the potential need to leave to search for jobs.
“We were back in Washington D.C. this week to meet with the Department of Interior and the owners and operators of the Navajo Generating Station. It is the position of the Navajo Nation that our goal is to keep the NGS open through 2030. There are over 3,100 direct and indirect jobs that are affected by the NGS and Kayenta Mine with over $180 million dollars in annualized wages. In addition, an ASU study stated that NGS provides an economic impact to the region of over $230 million. A closure would be a devastating impact to Arizona.”
Vice President Jonathan Nez added, “We understand that there are stark realities that exist that will require us to get to 2029. We will do everything in our power to ensure that the Navajo people are taken care of and that we protect our people, our Navajo jobs and our business. We want what’s in the best interests for our nation and for our people.”