Regarding "Navajos concerned over water deal with feds" (Republic, May 14): Several Navajo residents in that article described their concerns about the Navajo Generating Station and their disappointment that the power plant has not lived up to its promise of jobs and a stronger economy.

Although we understand and appreciate the concerns expressed by individual Navajos in the article, it is important to understand the total benefit that NGS provides to both the Navajo Nation and Arizona.

The plant was built in the 1970s to provide the power needed to deliver water to Arizona cities. By using coal from the Navajo Nation's Black Mesa, it provides income to the tribe as well as jobs for hundreds of Navajos.

Today, NGS and the Kayenta mine, which supplies it with coal, employ nearly 1,000 people, over 80 percent of whom are Navajo. It's not unusual to find two and three generations of Navajo families who continue to be employed by both the plant and mine.

The plant also provides reliable low-cost electricity to hundreds of thousands of customers in Arizona, Nevada and California, and it provides affordable pumping power for the Central Arizona Project.

According to a study prepared for Salt River Project and the Navajo Nation by Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business, the power plant also generates substantial economic benefits for Arizona. The study concluded that NGS and the mine will provide more than $20 billion in economic benefit to Arizona from 2011 to 2044 and contribute 3,000 jobs each year throughout the state.

Further, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory reports the mine has provided $1.3 billion in payments to both the Navajo and Hopi tribal governments since 1987.

As reported in The Republic, though, some on the Navajo Reservation lament that they have received no personal benefit from the plant's existence, citing that thousands of homes scattered across the reservation have no electricity or running water despite the presence of a power plant nearby.

Although we recognize the importance of electrification to the Navajo people, the issue of where and how to expend capital-improvement funds for members of the Navajo Nation, whether for electricity or for water distribution, is determined by the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA), not the owners of NGS.

Still, SRP and the other owners of NGS are taking proactive steps to increase access to electricity on the Navajo Reservation. NGS' owners recently announced a partnership with the NTUA to bring electricity to more than 60 LeChee Chapter community homes over a three-year period. The NGS owners' share of this project is more than $2 million (about half of the total project cost).

The owners will continue to work diligently to ensure that NGS remains an important provider of electricity for its customers, a responsible business partner with the Navajo Nation and a significant economic engine for Arizona.

John Sullivan is chief resources executive for Salt River Project.