Conservation alerts, rolling blackouts, boiling water: A new normal?

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - It feels like a new normal: extreme winter weather wreaking havoc on Memphis Light, Gas and Water customers.

The winter storm in February 2021 led to MLGW’s first boil water advisory that lasted more than a week.

MLGW customers experienced rolling blackouts during Winter Storm Elliott in December 2022, and a boil water advisory around the Christmas holiday.

Finally, MLGW asked customers conserve power this week as temperatures plummeted more than 30 degrees below normal.

That ask – to conserve power – was originally requested by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which supplies power to millions of customers across six states. MLGW is its biggest customer. TVA even set a new power record Wednesday morning.

“I don’t want to say that this is a new norm,” said Doug McGowen, MLGW President and CEO. “Whether it’s the new normal, I think we’ll all have to start paying attention to our electrification of things.”

An increase in extreme weather and increased demand for power increases continues to strain the system, and it’s not just MLGW’s issue.

There are three main power grids in the U.S. that are managed by 66 authorities, including the TVA. Those authorities generate enough power to meet demand, and then utility companies, like MLGW, distribute that power to customers. When weather affects multiple states, the system as a whole is strained.

However, McGowen believes these could be short-term solution as extreme weather and increase demand continues.

“There isn’t an endless supply of electricity,” he said. “We’re going to have to take some actions to balance that with energy efficiency, reasonable conservation efforts that we can all live with in our daily lives.”

MLGW has begun its plan of upgrading its own infrastructure, which it says will be complete by 2028.

So far, MLGW has replaced 20 transformers, 70 circuit breakers, 50 miles of underground cable, and replaced 2,600 light poles.

It is also upgrading its power system from a manual system to an automated one.

“[If] a tree falls on the line we have to send someone out to look at it and figure out how to reroute power safely. That could take hours,” said McGowen. “[The automated] system does that in seconds.”

The number one priority that has made a difference during this storm? Tree trimming. 500 miles of trees have been trimmed so far by three new contracted companies.

Northcentral Electric, which services northern Mississippi, echoes that priority. Tree trimming is its main priority too when it comes to power stability.

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