Art Contest Winners

Congratulations to the winners of this year's art contest. These students and their teachers won in the elementary, middle and high school categories. The theme was “Energy Awareness and Energy Conservation.”

L--R:
The elementary student winner: "How to Save Energy" by Aeryn Clark, Kate Bond Elementary, 4th grade, Mrs. Jenkins, art teacher

The middle school student winner: "Picture Yourself Saving Energy" by Lyrikal Jenkins, Colonial Middle School, 8th grade, Jennifer Shiberou, art teacher

The high school student winner: " Conserve Energy, Save Our World" by Anna Trinh Nguyen, Immaculate Conception Cathedral School, 11th grade, Meghan Watermeier, art teacher

MLGW at the top for Cybersecurity

With recent data breaches at Target and Neiman Marcus retail stores, cybersecurity is a hot topic of late. MLGW employees and customers can rest assured knowing MLGW’s systems and processes incorporate the best industry practices as recognized by Security Magazine. The publication issued its top 500 rankings and the Division was among the top 30 in the utility industry. The Security 500 survey identifies, ranks, and reports on the 500 biggest and best security organizations across 17 sectors.

MLGW was recognized for its cybersecurity efforts. The award was presented at a recent Board of Commissioners meeting. Accepting from MLGW were Allan Long, Utility Compliance Manager; LaShell Vaughn, VP, Chief Technology Officer; Jerry Collins Jr., President and CEO; Steve Wishnia, Board Commissioner; and Alonzo Weaver, VP, Engineering Operations.

Call 811 Before You Dig!

In addition to being prepared for the dangers presented by severe weather, a little knowledge about natural gas safety is a must. When warned to evacuate the area, do so immediately. The leading cause of natural gas pipeline accidents – almost 60 percent – is damage from excavation or construction. Many of us are eager and can’t wait to break ground to start outdoor projects such as building fences or planting trees.

But do we know what’s under the ground where we plan to dig? Natural gas pipelines and other utility lines weave beneath the surface throughout our community. Major gas pipelines are marked with a yellow caution sign. But secondary lines aren’t as easily identifiable. So don’t risk hitting a gas line, disrupting neighborhood service, and facing potential fines and repair costs.

Before you begin digging, remember to contact Tennessee One Call at 811 to request that a professional locating crew mark the underground utility lines on your property. The service is free, and it’s the law!

MLGW Bowls for Junior Achievement

On Saturday, March 1, MLGW employees participated in the annual Junior Achievement “Bowlin’ On the River” Bowl-A-Thon to raise funds for Junior Achievement programs in Memphis and the Mid-South. The Bowl-A-Thon is the largest and longest running event for JA, raising nearly $300,000 each year.

MLGW Constructing $2 Million Compressed Natural Gas Facility

In this week's Flyer...

The price of conventional petroleum gas by the gallon has increased lately, but there’s an alternate route drivers can take to save a few dollars.

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), made from methane stored at a high pressure, currently goes for $1.69 by the gallon locally. Memphis Light, Gas, and Water (MLGW) opened its first CNG public fueling station at its North Service Center (1130 Tupelo St.) this past July.

And the utility company is currently in the construction phase of a new $2 million CNG facility.

MLGW president Jerry Collins said the facility would be located at the company’s South Service Center (2981 South Center Road). It’s slated to open this July.

“It’ll have two islands, four lanes, [and] two high-flow nozzles, which will let the trucks fill up faster than what we currently have at the other facility,” Collins said. “The other aspect of the facility on the south side, it’ll let us expand our fleet of natural gas vehicles, so that vehicles stationed at the south work center can fill up [there].”

MLGW currently has 76 natural gas vehicles and more than 20 on order.

Collins said there’s been an increase in commercial and industrial vehicles using the CNG fueling station at the MLGW North Service Center....

Communications and Public Relations Department Receives Awards for Outstanding Digital Projects

Several Communications and Public Relations team members are the recipients of the 2014 Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals AVA Digital Awards. The AVA Digital Awards is an international competition that recognizes excellence by creative professionals responsible for the planning, concept, direction, design and production of digital communication.

The following entries were awarded:

• MLGW.com – Website/Government-Gold Award
• MLGW-LNG Video – Video Production/Informational-Honorable Mention
• VIP-Volunteers in Power July/August 2013 – Interactive Communication/E-Newsletter- Gold Award
• Smart Meter Townhall Meeting with President Jerry Collins Jr. – Social Media/Twitter- Platinum Award
• Smart Talk E-mail newsletter – Interactive Communication/E-mail Campaign-Honorable Mention

MLGW Named in Top Ranking for Social Media

A new national survey of the top 50 utilities in the country published by Northeast Group, LLC has ranked MLGW as one of the top three utilities in the nation for its social media efforts. These utilities on average had 11,000 twitter followers and responded to customer comments within 28 minutes. MLGW ranked tops along with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Dominion.

The survey also ranked the top utilities in the country for mobile apps in which MLGW ranks in the top three. MLGW's free mobile app, both for iPhone and Android, allows MLGW customers to access a variety of utility related information, including outage status, conservation tips and a mobile-friendly outage map. San Diego Gas and Electric and Con Edison were also selected in this category.

MLGW has nearly 12,000 Twitter followers, 8,000 Facebook likes, an award-winning blog and website, pages on Pinterest, Youtube and Flicker.