There are 541 article(s) tagged MLGW:
As of 9:15 p.m. Saturday, MLGW knew of five water main breaks. All customers are urged to use boiled or bottled water for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation until further notice.
Multiple line breaks and production issues have resulted in a significant loss of water pressure, which can allow disease-causing microbes into the water system.
Memphis Light, Gas and Water President Doug McGowen will share updates on rolling blackouts and the water boil advisory at a noon press conference.
It’s Christmas Eve and blackouts are back, and lasting longer than expected. And they’re in areas that weren’t expecting to be affected.
The TVA faces outages at two of its coal-fired plants and some of its natural gas plants, according to spokesperson Scott Brooks.
MLGW said Friday evening that it was preparing for the possibility of TVA requiring its customers to cut power load by at least 5%.
During a noon press conference, Memphis Light, Gas & Water president and CEO Doug McGowen announced that MLGW will not be doing any rolling blackouts.
Beginning at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 23, MLGW will implement systemwide “rolling blackouts.”
Though dangerously cold wind chills are predicted for the Memphis area, MLGW doesn’t expect widespread power outages. But McGowen is keeping a focus on the local water system.
“(It will be) too cold to be outside for long periods of time,” said a NWS meteorologist. “And, in addition to that, we do have our winds that are going to be gusting up to 40 miles per hour.”
When GDS Associates first evaluated the 20-odd proposals for Memphis’s power supply contract earlier this year, TVA was not the frontrunner. The initial scoring actually awarded the highest score to NextEra Energy.
Bogie’s was forced to close after a water main burst flooding the basement of its building. In a way that’s been worse for business than even the pandemic was, and they are celebrating their re-opening with 2000-era prices.
Even though MLGW is in some ways back where it started, the power provider RFP wasn’t all for naught, said the utility’s board chair.
After a lawyer for the Franklin L. Haney Co. spoke during Wednesday’s MLGW board meeting, the board took a brief, unplanned recess to consult its legal team.Related story:
The vote will determine whether MLGW signs a long-term contract with the Tennessee Valley Authority or continues with its current contract.
MLGW will continue its 80-year relationship with TVA through its current contract, but Commissioner Carl Person encouraged the board to work closely with the utility to seek an agreement that best suits Memphis and its ratepayers.
Rainfall is expected to continue through midnight, possibly into early Wednesday morning, and the National Weather Service said severe storms could produce tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail.
Thecouncil scorecard looks at the moves of city chief operating officer Doug McGowen to head Memphis Light Gas and Water Division and Chandell Ryan to the number two post at City Hall as well as a primer on both positions.
The Franklin L. Haney Co. said MLGW’s bid review process was biased toward TVA and it asked that its proposal be rescored.
Before his confirmation by the Memphis City Council this week, Doug McGowen indicated MLGW will move closer to Memphis’ day-to-day operations. He also said the city-owned utility could expand to include broadband and has to improve its responsiveness to Memphians.
Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division said a vendor error caused thousands of residents to receive an email stating their utility bill was $0.
The board vote could end a years-long process over who will be MLGW’s next power supplier.
The council also confirmed Chandell Ryan as the city’s new chief operating officer — the first woman to hold the No. 2 post in city government.
Though the utility has no plans to increase rates this year — or next — costs are still expected to be 9% higher than last year.
An MLGW board member questioned the $299 million capital spend in the utility’s budget. Utility officials say the five-year, $1 billion plan was slowed by supply chain problems and labor problems.