Power restored for more than half of 120,000 outages
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — MLGW says power has been restored to more than half of the 122,000 customers who were left without electricity in Sunday’s storms.
About 71,000 customers have been restored as of noon Tuesday.
“In 48 hours’ time, that’s a pretty remarkable pace,” MLGW President Doug McGowen said.
But extensive damage to electrical infrastructure means the remaining 51,000 customers may have to wait multiple days.
Click here to view the MLGW power outage map.
Most of the remaining outages are in the northern and eastern areas of Memphis and Shelby County. McGowen said the level of damage and complexity of restoration meant he could not estimate a date when all power would be restored.
The water system, which had been affected by low pressure due to the power outage, was operating normally and McGowen said he expects a boil-water advisory issued for less than 1,000 Shelby County customers will be lifted Wednesday.
Ninety repair crews, along with troublehooters, tree trimmers, damage assessors and more, are working in shifts 24 hours a day to repair the damage.
McGowen said this weekend’s storm is the sixth-worst ever in terms of utility customers affected.
“We have never seen this type of storm, with this type of frequency,” he said Tuesday. “This was a severe event that would knock out power in almost any system in the country. So we have called on every resource to help get it back on as quickly as we can.”
Straight-line winds caused substantial damage to utility poles in the Wolfchase area around Germantown Parkway. McGowen said those poles would be reset and straightened within a couple of days.
Temperatures are expected to exceed 100 degrees Thursday and Friday. McGowen asked residents to check on their neighbors and make sure they were OK.
McGowen said MLGW has been investing in improvements to infrastructure to make its light, gas and water systems more reliable.
Shelby County declared a local state of emergency Tuesday. The mayor cited storm damage and power outages amid rising temperatures.
► Call 901-528-4455 to report emergencies like downed power lines and gas leaks.
► People who are enrolled in SNAP who have a power loss of 12 hours or more can apply for food replacement benefits. Click here to apply.
Source: WREG NewsChannel 3
