Officials outside Memphis don’t have a voice on issues regarding Memphis, Light, Gas & Water Division, but suburban leaders hold strong opinions as the utility company considers replacing the Tennessee Valley Authority.

MLGW distributes electricity to all of Shelby County, and more than 30% of the county’s residents live outside of Memphis, according to the most recent census data. Some suburban leaders estimate the areas outside the major city account for 40% of MLGW’s revenue. The utility company could not immediately confirm those numbers.

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“When you’re a third of the county and more than that in revenue, there’s got to be skin in the game for us too,” Arlington Mayor Mike Wissman said.

For 80 years TVA has been the sole provider of electric power to MLGW. The Memphis-owned utility company is reviewing proposals and estimates of what it would take to separate from TVA and choose another source.

A major concern suburban mayors share is their lack of voice on the MLGW board. All of the board’s voting members are Memphis residents, although change is possible with legislation under consideration next year. 

“We receive information after decisions are made,” Lakeland Mayor Mike Cunningham, who is stepping down this year, said in an emailed statement, noting his concern about the possible split from TVA.

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Wissman said the area is fortunate to have TVA providing power due to its involvement locally. As MLGW starts looking at other groups, it causes concern. When winter storms hit Texas in 2021, the electric grid operator lost control to supply power causing days of blackouts. Wissman worries if there’s a change in electric provider, Shelby County could see a similar issue.

A high percentage of long-term outages from February’s local ice storm were in Bartlett. While MLGW said they’d be better about trimming the trees if the a new provider is chosen, that doesn’t address power stations, Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald said.

He would not mind if MLGW stuck with TVA. Their rates are reliable. Some other suppliers keep the rates flat for a certain amount of power and then the price increases to whatever the market rate is that day when the volume is exceeded, McDonald noted.

Suburban mayors know little about MLGW’s negotiations for a new provider.

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“We don’t know what we don’t know about the deal,” McDonald said. “We want to know what our options are.”

He suggested if MLGW splits, the northeastern suburbs could make their own cooperative agreement about electricity.

“We should have meaningful say,” McDonald said of discussions with MLGW, a comment Collierville Mayor Stan Joyner echoed. 

“There are a number of challenges MLGW faces,” Joyner said. “One of the big ones is the aging infrastructure that they have, which is going to be reflected in the rate they charge. If the reason for (splitting from TVA) is cost savings, I’m concerned whether or not that cost saving will be realized by the rate payer.”

He said reliability is of highest importance to Collierville, and there’s a fear service could diminish if MLGW dissolves its agreement. Germantown and Collierville have not discussed a co-op, like the one mentioned by McDonald for the northeastern quadrant of the county.

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Germantown Mayor Mike Palazzolo said he aims to stay informed on MLGW decisions, but he often hears complaints about the electricity from his residents.

“At the end of the day, we don’t have the ability to take advocacy and turn it into results,” he said. “All rate payers need to be represented, not ones that are just within a certain boundary.”

While Germantown resident Kevin Young served as a suburban advocate on the MLGW board, he did not have the ability to vote. Young no longer serves in the role, and the utility company has not reassigned ex-officio members to represent the suburbs.

Palazzolo said the concerns for Germantown are the “4Rs:” Rates, reliability, reinvestment in infrastructure and representation.

“If you leave TVA and go with a free-market private source, is there going to have to be a significant infrastructure investment to bring those energy sources? ... Does the infrastructure have to be modified to have it?” Palazzolo asked, noting the citizens of Shelby County, including the MLGW rate payers in Germantown, will cover the bill.

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Rep. Kevin Vaughan, R-Collierville, is a licensed electrical engineer and chaired the state House’s Commerce Committee, which reviews utility matters. He communicates regularly with MLGW, but also is considering what the state’s role might be in its next session.

Vaughan said he understands TVA was initially founded as a federally owned utility agency to provide jobs and electricity to the region. However, the company seems to situationally operate as a government or private entity as it fits their needs. He feels TVA provides a customer service role to MLGW rather than regulatory oversight. 

“As far as MLGW, the fact that one political subdivision enjoys a monopoly over other political subdivisions — which gives suburban residents and taxpayers no redress — is concerning,” Vaughan said. “This in turn allows the City of Memphis extraordinary control over the growth of suburban areas through costs and fees charged.”

State legislators could implement state regulations next year affecting TVA and MLGW. They could examine how a power distributor, locally MLGW, is regulated if it separates from TVA. 

Legislation could also tackle whether paying MLGW bills should have equal representation with full voting rights on the power company’s board, an effort suburban mayors would support.

“(MLGW is) following the instructions of the City Council of Memphis, but it’s time to rethink the system that’s in place in Shelby County,” McDonald said.

Millington Mayor Terry Jones was unavailable for comment.