Utility Trivia

Just for fun...

* When MLGW was formed in 1939, starting pay for a lineman was 84 cents per hour.

* The first electric lights to be seen in Memphis were displayed in 1881 by a dealer in lamps and lamp fixtures. Four of these lights were displayed at the corner of Main and Madison. The first pole in the MLGW electric distribution system was placed at the corner of Person and Rozelle.

* In 1884, natural gas cost 30 cents/ccf. In 2009, a residential customer pays $1.28/ccf, only a 98-cent increase in 125 years.

* In 1887, when drillers first tapped into the artesian water supply underneath the city, water “enterprisers” sold the pure, fresh artesian water for a nickel a glass. Today, MLGW residential customers can buy a gallon of that same pure artesian water for less than a penny.

* Memphians pay the lowest combined water and wastewater rates of nearly 30 U.S. cities, according to the newly released 2009 report of water and wastewater bill comparisons compiled by Austin Water Utility in Austin, Texas. The survey compared water and wastewater costs for residential customers and showed that MLGW residential water customers pay, on average, $22.67 per month for water and wastewater service. Salt Lake City residents have the second lowest average bill at $27.40. Seattle residents have the highest combined average bill at $99.00 per month, according to the survey.