Gas and Water – Memphis Flyer

The winter storm that hit Shelby County last Sunday evening caused extreme traffic delays, hazardous safety conditions, and thousands of households to lose power.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water president Jerry Collins said more than 60,000 MLGW customers experienced power outages due to the storm.

Jerry Collins

“We started getting a few calls Sunday afternoon, about 5 or 6 p.m. As soon as the calls started coming in, we started to begin the restoration process,” Collins said. “Our employees worked in very difficult circumstances all week. They worked in very cold temperatures [and] on very slippery surfaces, with all of the ice on the ground. In some cases, there were trees that had fallen, that were blocking roads and kept us from getting to some of the people that had lost power. It was difficult all around.”

As of today (March 7th), Collins said there are 12 MLGW customers still experiencing power outages. He said their power would be restored today.

Contributing factors to the massive power outage include strong winds and freezing rain that built up as ice on tree limbs, causing many trees to collapse onto power lines and utility poles.

“The best thing that we can do is to make sure that we maintain a very active tree-trimming program, so that we can minimize the effects of either an ice storm or a thunderstorm or straight-line winds from having trees and tree limbs fall on power lines,” Collins said. “We currently spend about $11 million a year just trimming trees along power lines. That needs to continue, so that we can hopefully minimize the impact of storms.”

Whenever someone experiences power outages, they’re encouraged to contact MLGW’s outage hotline at (901) 544-6500. The hotline will not only allow residents to report outages, but it also provides them with the latest information available on estimated times of restoration and how many other people in their area are also experiencing power outages.

It’s also important that residents have a plan in place for power outages that could occur during cold weather conditions. Families should make sure they have emergency kits in their homes, keep their faucets slightly dripping to prevent frozen water pipes, and have contact information for warming centers and relatives or close friends on hand.

At a meeting of the Memphis City Council’s Memphis Light, Gas, and Water Committee this morning, members passed a resolution that will allow any Shelby County resident to opt out of receiving a smart meter at no cost.

In a previous meeting, council members and MLGW executive staff debated about whether or not there was a fee associated with opting out of smart meters, which will provide more detailed information on energy consumption than conventional meters. Councilwoman Janis Fullilove emphasized that she had received hundreds of calls from people expressing their desire to opt out of receiving a smart meter. Fullilove said some citizens informed her that when they contacted MLGW’s Customer Customer Care Center about opting out, they were told that there would be a fee associated with having their meters removed.

During the meeting, MLGW President Jerry Collins expressed that there never has been a fee associated with opting out of receiving a smart meter. If customers wish to opt out, Collins said they should call 544-MLGW. A form will be sent to those customers, and they must fill it out and send it back to MLGW to finalize their request.

MLGW’s smart meters have been creating controversy since they’ve been introduced. Some citizens have expressed worries about the meters potentially invading their privacy, creating a fire hazard, and possibly increasing utility bills.

In August, the city council approved a $10 million contract for MLGW to install 60,000 smart meters between December of this year and June 2014. There will be individual smart meters for electricity, gas, and water. MLGW anticipates installing meters in all Memphis and Shelby County residences and businesses by 2020.