MLGW: 99% restoration reached following storms (2024)

SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. — Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) said Saturday that their crews are working "through the night" and will continue to work through the weekend. The utility company said 118,000 customers have been brought back to power so far.

Additional tree trimmers have been added and their warehouses are reportedly stocked with cable, poles, transformers and other equipment to "make necessary repairs."

“It’s frustrating — we get it — but know that we have not forgotten you and will keep working until you are back on,” said Doug McGowen, President and CEO of MLGW.

MLGW's outage map shows as of Saturday that about 8,000 customers remain without power and repair teams are working to resolve more than more than 300 outages across Shelby County after Sunday's thunderstorms.

On Friday, MLGW said that it reached 98% restoration for customers across the area after Sunday's storms. They said progress is "slow going due to the nature of the outages left and the extreme heat."

The company said it may have to temporarily interrupt electrical service to some customers as they repair various circuits. "This is a temporary measure and part of the permanent restoration process," they said.

On Tuesday, the utility said that customers who remain without power should prepare for it to last "multiple days." The CEO said this was the sixth worst storm in MLGW history.

A boil water advisory was lifted Wednesday for parts of north Shelby County after being enacted due to low water pressure following Sunday's storms.

You can check out MLGW's storm response dashboard HERE.

Work continues on repairs

MLGW said crews will work in shifts 24/7 until all customers are restored.

Remaining work is focused on large outages concentrated in the Millington, Bartlett, Raleigh and the Shelby Forest areas. MLGW said crews are also working across the entire service area to restore power to all customers. There will be no disconnects for non-payment Friday.

MLGW said Thursday that so far, more than 350 damaged or broken poles have been repaired.

MLGW said Friday 117 electric repair crews are working to repair damages. Those repair crews will work alongside 24 troubleshooter crews, and 94 tree cutting crews, and 48 damage assessment crews, MLGW said.

MLGW also said an intermittent issue with its outage hotline has been resolved. Customers should continue to call to report their outage and not assume MLGW knows. The utility said because of the ways repairs work, the system may not detect a separate outage downstream when a repair is made.

What you need to know as boil water advisory is lifted

MLGW said there are no restrictions on the normal use of drinking water and it has consulted with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) to assure water safety standards have been met.

The precautionary boil water advisory was issued after power outages from Sunday's storm caused low water pressure in MLGW’s water system. The utility said there were no reports of any impact on water quality, but regulations require a boil water advisory any time water pressure drops below 20psi.

From MLGW:

What should customers do next?

If the water is discolored:

If you have questions regarding this matter, you may contact MLGW’s Water Quality Assurance Lab at 901-320-3962, or emailwaterlab@mlgw.org.

Damage from storms

At the peak of Sunday's thunderstorms, wind gusts reached up to 75 mph, causing 120,000 outages in Memphis.

Areas in Cordova near the Wolfchase Galleria and upper parts of Stage Rd. near Kate Bond Elementary remain without power after experiencing total blackouts, impacting residents and businesses on N. Germantown Pkwy, Highway 64 and Stage Rd. Millington is also experiencing total blackouts.

The widespread damage stretches further than Shelby County. MLGW reported that more than 700,000 customers throughout Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia were affected by "Super Cell Thunderstorms" Sunday.

MLGW also said that 27% or Shelby County customers, 30% of Hardeman County Customers, and more than 50% of Fayette County customers are all experiencing power outages.

The same storm affected some 130,000 customers in Arkansas and 300,000 customers in Georgia, MLGW said.

Replacement of SNAP benefits

Memphis Light, Gas, and Water announced Tuesday that some of the people who have lost power from Sunday’s storms could get help replacing their food.

MLGW said Shelby County residents who are currently enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and who lost power for more than 12 hours, may be eligible for replacement benefits.

The benefits are only available to existing SNAP recipients. The request must be made within 10 calendar days of experiencing food loss. The benefits will be authorized for the loss only and will not exceed the current month’s allotment.

Once approved, the Tennessee Department of Human Services said the benefits will be issued on the current recipient’s EBT card.

Find instructions on how to apply for the replacement benefits HERE.

Messages from MLGW CEO Doug McGowen

Tuesday, June 27

"Our restoration efforts have continued through the day and will continue until we have every customer restored. We increased the number of repair crews to 90 today, and will be adding 10 more tomorrow, and others as we can get them. They are joined by 79 tree trimming crews who are clearing debris away from damaged infrastructure, 50 damage assessment teams and 40 troubleshooters, all of whom are supported by hundreds of system operators, logis􀆟cs personnel and engineers who are providing informa􀆟on, supplies and equipment necessary to effectuate repairs.

It is fair to say that we have completed all the “low-hanging fruit” restoration work: rerouting power where and when possible and getting substations and large circuits restored: each of those actions restores power to thousands of customers per repair. This leaves us to repair hundreds of other outages, each of which will impact only a few hundred or a few dozen customers per repair– this is the “hand to hand combat” part of the restoration effort that takes longer and takes more resources.

Our priority is to restore power as quickly as possible to everyone and to ensure that we do not precipitate another emergency, and so we focus on ensuring water and sewer systems continue to function and that hospitals can stay open. The MLGW water system has returned to normal operations and is maintaining normal pressures throughout the system. We anticipate lifting the boil water advisory that was in place for a small portion of northern Shelby County by tomorrow afternoon.

I do not have a firm estimate on full restoration given the magnitude of the damage and volume of work that remains. I continue to ask that everyone presently without power plan to be out for several days’ time, and that our customers who do have power help their friends and neighbors where and when you can. I am aware that temperatures will dramatically increase after Wednesday, and there is urgency to get as much power restored as quickly as we can. I ask for similar urgency for all of us to check on the welfare of neighbors and family.

While many of our customers were unaffected by this storm, it ranks as the 6th most impactful storm in the history of MLGW. You have my commitment to seek every resource necessary to get your power restored as quickly as we possibly can."

Monday, June 26

"Last evening, our community suffered extensive damage from 75 mph winds that were caused by quickly moving super cell thunderstorms. These storms wreaked havoc across our area, causing more than 700,000 customers to lose power - 122,000 in the MLGW service area. The damage and outages rank this storm as the sixth worse in MLGW history.

As the storms were heading to us, our team mobilized assistance from outside contractors to help us in what we predicted would be a very large restoration effort. That help arrived today, and together with MLGW crews, there are about 70 crews working hard to make repairs. In many cases, the damage was caused by falling trees, meaning substantial tree cuttng work is required before repairs can be made. We have nearly 50 tree crews actively in the field doing that work.

Our priority is to ensure that we do not precipitate another emergency, and so we focus on ensuring water and sewer systems continue to function and that hospitals can stay open. In a small area of northern Shelby County, our water pumping capacity was impacted by electrical outages, causing low pressures, and reaching a point where a precautionary boil water advisory was required for just that small part of the service area.

I do not have a firm estimate on full restoration given the magnitude of the damage. I ask that everyone presently without power plan to be out for several days’ time, and that our customers who do have power help their friends and neighbors where and when you can. I am aware that temperatures will dramatically increase after Wednesday, and there is urgency to get as much power restored as quickly as we can. I ask for similar urgency for all of us to check on the welfare of neighbors and family.

This storm and the others since the Christmas deep freeze and rolling blackouts that came with it are unprecedented in frequency and damage. While we cannot control weather, you deserve a more resilient and reliable electric system in the face of that weather, and these storms underscore the absolute imperative and urgency to get the work done. I am glad to report that help is coming, and we are underway with a comprehensive approach to improving our system. Simply, we will be investing heavily in vegetation management (tree trimming) to ensure we get to and stay on a three -year cycle, something we haven’t done for several years. We will be replacing significant quantities of aged infrastructure and ensuring our systems are upgraded to modern construction standard. And we will be dramatically improving resilience and reliability by installing a “smart grid” that is able to prevent many outages, and when they do occur, can be “self-healing” and can automatically redirect power around the system, restoring many customers automatically, and pinpointing areas of damage for our crews – saving substantial time and dramatically improving restoration times. These investments will improve performance by more than 50% on average across the system, with bigger impacts in the areas with the worst reliability today.

You have my commitment to seek every resource necessary to get your power restored as quickly as we possibly can."

Check and report outages

Contact information for customers:

North Mississippi

Call 1-800-ENTERGY (1-800-368-3749) to report downed lines

Report an outage:

East Arkansas