There are 192 article(s) tagged Doug McGowen:
Collierville Mayor Stan Joyner called the latest outage ‘a gut punch’ to those already affected. MLGW President and CEO Doug McGowen said weather-related repairs delay long-term reliability improvements. ‘I don’t want customers to lose hope’: Second week of storms knocks out power for 35,000Related story:
Even after the sun sets, there won’t be much of a break from the heat, especially for the remaining Memphis Light, Gas and Water customers whose power is still out.Related story:
“I’m going to ask is that everyone uses sensible measures to conserve electricity where and when you can, irrespective of electrical outage,” MLGW’s McGowen said. MLGW expects current power outages to continue through the weekendRelated story:
The utility replaced more than 350 wooden utility poles in three days.
MLGW needs to clear about 1,400 miles of vegetation each year to maintain its tree-trimming schedule; in the past four years combined, however, it hasn’t been able to meet that goal.
On Sunday night, wind gusted to more than 75 miles per hour. Shelby County was not alone in power outages, which were widespread across Hardeman, Fayette and Tipton counties. MLGW issues boil water advisory for northern Shelby County MLGW: Power restoration from Sunday night storms could take days Sunday storm aftermath gallery: Photos and video from the destructionRelated stories:
Low water pressure forced the advisory. MLGW: Power restoration from Sunday night storms could take daysRelated story:
Doug McGowen said he is working to improve the service Memphis Light Gas and Water Division provides to residents as if the company has to earn their service.
Since 2005, all MLGW employees have been required to live in Shelby County within six months of being hired. The board has voted to change that, and the utility also is looking at signing bonuses that could range from $1,500 to $15,000 for new employees.
He’s seen combat, worked to resolve the city’s sexual assault kit backlog and led the area’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Now, Doug McGowen is taking on Memphis’ publicly owned utility.
James Lewellen could become an advisory member of the Memphis Light, Gas and Water board as early as next month.
MLGW’s number of customer minutes without power has tripled since the 1990s; utility CEO Doug McGowen said Tuesday the question needs to change from how cheaply MLGW can purchase energy to how it can buy enough to meet demand.
In the face of political pressure, Memphis Light, Gas and Water CEO Doug McGowen gave his firmest no yet — MLGW won’t be bidding out its energy supply again anytime soon.
Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division took steps Wednesday, April 19, toward becoming what its CEO describes as a more “agile” organization.
Dr. Michelle Taylor, Shelby County Health Department director, said the decision to end the regularly scheduled meetings is a result of improvement over the last few weeks.
“The risk of additional forced blackouts is low for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,” said MLGW President and CEO Doug McGowen.
Memphis will spend $42 million to replace all 77,000 of its high-pressure sodium streetlights by the end of the year — a move that is equivalent to taking about 10,000 cars off the road.
MLGW has processed bills for more than 34,000 users who were behind on payments because of faulty meters. That’s about 8% of MLGW electricity customers.
The utility already has a five-year, $1 billion infrastructure investment plan, but if Shelby County is to be prepared for a rapidly changing energy market, MLGW President Doug McGowen said they need to think further ahead.
Any change in electricity provider could require changes in that transmission system, MLGW leadership says.
In the meantime, MLGW is replacing some of the broken water registers with analog ones.
MLGW’s Smart Meters are failing at a rate that suggests a design flaw, and the problem has delayed about $12.5 million in payments to the utility.
During a MLGW board meeting Wednesday, CEO Doug McGowen indicated that load forecasting would be part of the TVA review, “because there were some real issues to talk about there.”
MLGW president and CEO Doug McGowen says his priority is finding ways to accelerate the $1.2 billion, five-year plan to upgrade the utility’s infrastructure.
An industry group estimates there are 250,000 to 300,000 water main breaks in the U.S. every year — generating an estimated loss of 6 billion gallons of treated drinking water across the country.