Power outages related to Thursday’s ice storm will remain for several days, Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) officials said in a Friday-morning update of the situation.
As of Friday morning, nearly 122,000 MLGW customers were still in the dark, according to the agency’s outage map. More than 3,400 outages were reported, leaving nearly 30 percent of MLGW customers in the cold.
MLGW president and CEO J.T. Young said he did not have good news for those customers, noting it would be “several days” until the area’s electrical system was back to the way it was before the storm.
“Our electrical system right now has been through a major traumatic event and the patient is critical and they’re in surgery,” Young said Friday. ”Our system right now is not yet at the point where I would say it’s stable and able to transition to a room. It’s still critical and maybe even in [the Intensive Care Unit] following the surgery.”
However, Young said he was optimistic and was assured that “we’re going to get through this.” But, he said, getting there will take several days.
MLGW crews assessed the damage Thursday morning and prioritized reconnections. Critical facilities, like hospitals, water pumping stations, and sewer plants got first priority, according to MLGW COO Alonzo Weaver. After that, crews went to work restoring large circuits — those servicing 1,500 to 2,500 houses — of which about 90 were damaged.
Weaver noted, though, that if a tree limb damaged a home’s meter, its socket, or the pipe that runs through a home’s roof, homeowners are responsible for fixing those. He said homeowners with damaged equipment should call an electrician to fix it before MLGW can restore power.
Memphis-area street conditions, however, are “favorable,” according to Robert Kenecht, the city director of public works. City crews stopped putting salt and sand on roads early Friday morning. Those crews have shifted to tree removal.
City crews removed 67 trees from streets and other public rights of way Thursday. Kenecht said there were 206 outstanding calls for tree removals from streets as of Friday morning. He predicted the job would be complete by Sunday.
The city has 23 crews removing trees, including some private contractors. Kenecht noted, too, that removing trees down on private property are the responsibility of property owners, not the city.
City, county, and MLGW officials are working with state and federal agencies for an emergency disaster declaration. Locals have to show $3.5 million in damages to unlock such a declaration from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), which would bring in money and other aid from the state. They have to prove $12.5 million to get such aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
