Arlington, Collierville, Millington want a say ahead of MLGW recommendation
Half of Shelby County’s suburbs passed a resolution seeking a voice in decisions regarding Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division.
There are 147 article(s) tagged Memphis Light Gas and Water Division:
Half of Shelby County’s suburbs passed a resolution seeking a voice in decisions regarding Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division.
A resolution has been drafted that will encourage Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division to remain with Tennessee Valley Authority for reliability and to avoid high infrastructure costs.
He is the 37th employee of MLGW to die on the job since 1941.
All 77,330 of the city’s high-pressure sodium streetlights will be replaced with LED lighting in a project that includes an automated management system that notifies MLGW when the lights are out.
The utility received a great that will help it upgrade its infrastructure to be part of a network of 32 fast charging units on interstates and major highways.
For years, advocates have said MLGW could save hundreds of millions of dollars annually by leaving TVA and buying electricity from someone else. But savings of “huge dollars” didn’t materialize in the latest proposals from other providers.
The Thursday meeting will be the first look at some of the price quotes and other proposals to replace TVA as MLGW’s supplier of electric power. But there will probably still be some secrecy about who made what bid.
Tennessee Valley Authority officials got a hostile reception when they took an economic development study to the Memphis City Council Tuesday.
TVA CEO Jeff Lyash talked on “Behind the Headlines” about the federal agency’s offer to MLGW if the utility stays with TVA for another two decades and local power generation by the utility.
MLGW President and CEO J.T. Young says on Behind The Headlines that a preliminary report on sealed bids to replace TVA as the utility’s electric power supplier should be ready in late May or early June for review.
The transactions will save the city money. The council also dealt with MLGW pay thresholds and approved a resolution calling for the cancellation of student loan debt.
Longtime MLGW board members will not be reappointed by Mayor Strickland. The decision follows an investigation by the Institute for Public Service Reporting that found all five board members were serving after their terms had expired.
The March 22 council day starts with the 2 new MLGW board members and three reappointees. Some on the council also want to hire an energy consultant.
The 51-member panel held its first meeting Thursday, March 17.
Letter questions the validity of the process being used to determine what it would take to get a new electric power supplier and build a new system for MLGW to break its 80-year relationship with TVA.
Some City Council members noted that it seems like “certain people” get their electricity back first after outages.
In a split vote, the council also approved a resolution backing the nomination of the first Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court and accepted a grant to hire a “pet reunification specialist” for Memphis Animal Services.
During an hour-long online town hall Wednesday, Feb. 23, City Council member Worth Morgan and MLGW leaders fielded questions about recent increases in utility bills and the ice storm repairs.
Speaking Thursday, Feb. 17, at the Frayser Exchange Club, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said the city’s chronic power outages during frequent storms is mostly about the trees that dominate the city’s landscape. Strickland says any solution to the continuing outages will be expensive.
The vote for cashless payments to get cars impounded by towing companies was unanimous.
MLGW says power has been restored for all customers who lost it following the Feb. 3 ice storm.
Also Tuesday, the council will consider opposing a bill in the Tennessee General Assembly that would outlaw any kind of residency requirement for police and firefighters.
In his weekly email, Strickland said he isn’t recommending action at this point, but all options should be explored to cure how the city has been crippled by 14 major storms over the past 19 years, not counting the 1994 ice storm.
Memphis Light, Gas and Water officials say there have been no reported robberies of tree-trimming or utility crews during the current ice storm damage repair, although such problems have been an issue in the past.
Some elected leaders are already promising a long-term review of why outages continue to cripple the city for days at a time.