MEMPHIS, Tenn. — At least one city council member is asking questions about infrastructure changes and the possibility of putting more lines underground.
Today, MLGW’s President and CEO said this storm was the most significant and severe since the 1994 ice storm. Over the course of this most recent ice storm, more than 270,000 MLGW customers have been without power at one point.
The utility company hopes to have power back for everyone by the end of the week. Memphis city councilman Chase Carlisle said after restoration, it’s time to look ahead at changes.
“The rate increase was already put in place. The bonds have been issued, MLGW has the money and the capital,” Carlisle said. “It’s about deploying it in a meaningful, permanent way. The problem with tree trimming is the trees grow back and you have a cyclical issue. So we need to find a more permanent solution that meets the needs of the 21st century.”
Carlisle said he will specifically bring up a conversation about tree trimming.
“To spend tens of millions of, if not hundred of millions of dollars on tree trimming when we need to be looking at alternatives like burying powerlines is one conversation that we’re going to have,” he said. “I know they always like to throw a big number like, ‘hey that’s billions of dollars.’ I don’t think we have to bury every single powerline.”
WREG spoke with MLGW President and CEO J.T. Young about the possibility on Monday.
“One of the things that we’re trying to do is find infrastructure dollars that may be available from the infrastructure act that’s coming out of Congress,” Young said.
He said 60 percent of the city’s lines are overhead and 40 percent underground, and to move everything underground would be about $6 billion.
“As we move forward from this, as we look at the opportunity to put in more underground facilities, we’re going to do so I think strategically,” Young said. “The cost of putting the entire system underground I believe would ben untenable. I don’t think it’s something customers would be able to shoulder, but we’ll look at the range. We’ll talk to the board about it, certainly city council and others.”
MLGW hopes to have the lights back on for everyone by the end of this week.