MLGW power outages ‘fluctuate’ after height of Francine

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Thousands of Memphis, Light, Gas, and Water customers are still without power in the Mid-South on Friday after Francine’s Tropical Depression rolled through.

The high winds and rainfall impacted 34,300 MLGW customers at the height of the storm. The company now says they have over 50 crews working around the clock to restore power and make repairs.

However, they noted that customers should expect outages to “fluctuate” as more severe weather is forecast.

“We are prioritizing the largest outages and the customers who have been without service the longest. We are asking everyone for their patience as we take care of the damage that came from the storm and prepare for what is ahead,” said Doug McGowen, MLGW President and CEO.

On Thursday, the company said they managed the grid in real-time by rerouting power around outages and sending their crews to fix the issues as they arose after they started seeing the initial impacts of Francine’s remnants.

The number of customers without power jumped to more than 9,000 Thursday afternoon but started going down almost immediately, according to the power outage map.

Later in the day, MLGW said wind gusts had reached up to 53 mph, pushing total outage numbers to 20,000.

MLGW says they have secured 21 full-time crews to assess the damage and make repairs, 10 contract crews, over 20 contract crews to wait on standby, and 130 tree-trimming crews to clear debris in preparation for Francine.

“We are still well positioned with crews to respond through the night and into tomorrow,” the utility said in a statement. “There was only a moderate level of volume at the call center today, with call wait times averaging less than 30 seconds all day. We will stay hard at it until the storm passes and everyone is restored.”

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