MLGW, the largest three-service municipal utility in the U.S.
Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) is the largest three-service public power utility in the United States, providing electricity, natural gas and water to Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee. The utility is rolling out a multi-year Roadmap to Reliability program to modernize an aging grid that has seen outages double in frequency since 2000.
- The size of the MLGW network and the regions it covers
- Why power outages happen on the Memphis grid
- The Roadmap to Reliability and the 2023-2026 rate plan
- How drones, tree trimming and infrastructure replacement support reliability
421,000 customers across Memphis and Shelby County
MLGW serves all of Memphis and Shelby County, an urban core with extensive suburban neighborhoods. The utility is municipally owned, has been operating since 1939 and is unique among large U.S. cities for combining all three utilities (electric, gas and water) under one division.
- More than 428,000 electric customers in Shelby County, Tennessee.
- More than 313,000 natural gas customers and over 253,000 water customers.
- More than 7,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines across the service area.
- Largest single customer of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), representing about 11% of TVA's total load.
MLGW is governed by a board of commissioners and oversight from the Memphis City Council. President and CEO Doug McGowen leads the utility. Power supply is provided exclusively by TVA under a long-term partnership.
Why summer storms and tornadoes hit Memphis power lines
MLGW publicly acknowledges that outages are now twice as frequent and three times as long as in 2000, due to a long period of underinvestment combined with severe weather. The Roadmap to Reliability is the response to that gap.
Severe weather
Memphis sits in the U.S. severe weather corridor. Spring and summer thunderstorms, derechos and tornadoes drive most large-scale outages. Ice storms in winter and high heat in summer also stress the grid.
Trees and vegetation
Heavy tree cover across Memphis suburbs combined with frequent storms makes vegetation a major outage driver. Tree trimming has been significantly expanded under the Roadmap to Reliability.
Aging infrastructure
MLGW's leadership has stated publicly that for nearly 35 years before the current rate plan, the utility had effectively only one rate increase. As a result, equipment was not replaced on a regular cycle and the system requires significant investment to catch up.
TVA load curtailment events
On rare days of extreme heat or cold across the entire TVA region, the Tennessee Valley Authority can activate its Emergency Load Curtailment Program. MLGW asks customers to voluntarily reduce usage to avoid forced interruptions.
The MLGW reliability and infrastructure plan
The Memphis City Council approved a 12% multi-year rate increase in late 2023, phased into three annual installments through 2026. The plan is fully dedicated to replacing aging equipment, modernizing the grid and improving customer service technology.
MLGW Roadmap to Reliability in numbers
12% multi-year rate adjustment, phased over 2024, 2025 and 2026, fully directed to reliability investments.
Final 4% installment kicked in on January 1, 2026, completing the 2023 plan.
Aggressive tree trimming program targeting the largest source of weather-related outages.
Drone-based inspections to schedule repair and replacement of damaged or outdated equipment.
Public progress dashboard updated monthly at mlgw.com/4M, including infrastructure improvement metrics.
MLGW also engaged Baker Tilly to review operations, processes and asset infrastructure plans, identifying additional areas for improvement that feed into the multi-year roadmap.
Smart meters, vegetation management and AMI rollout
Drone inspections
Camera-mounted drones capture photos and video of poles, conductors and substation equipment, helping crews schedule repair and replacement of damaged or outdated infrastructure before it fails.
Strategic tree trimming
MLGW has scaled up its vegetation management program, prioritizing the segments of the grid that have repeatedly failed during storms.
Asset replacement
Replacing aging poles, conductors, transformers and substation equipment is the single biggest line item under the Roadmap to Reliability.
Green Power Switch and renewable options
MLGW partners with TVA on Green Power Switch and Green Flex (REC-based renewable programs). The TVA generation mix delivered to MLGW is now nearly 60% carbon-free thanks to nuclear, hydroelectric and other renewable sources.
MLGW outage tracker and Customer Care Center
MLGW outage map
MLGW publishes a public outage map updated in near real-time. Customers can search by address or zip code and follow estimated restoration times, the size of an outage and the status of crews.
My Account portal and alerts
The MLGW My Account portal and mobile experience let customers report a power outage, manage all three services on one bill and sign up for SMS, email and push notifications when service is interrupted.
Bill assistance and energy efficiency
MLGW offers payment plans, budget billing and energy-saving programs at mlgw.com/utilityassistance, plus partnerships on LIHEAP and local non-profits to support customers in need.
Entergy, Duke and Memphis ISPs
For a wider view of how the U.S. electric grid works and why outages happen, see the U.S. power outage page. Other large utilities serving the broader Mid-South and Southeast include Entergy and Duke Energy. For internet outages across the same Memphis footprint, the most common providers are AT&T and Xfinity.