Long Island Update

After eight days of hard work in harsh weather, MLGW crews have been released by  LIPA (Long Island Power Authority) and are on their way home.  LIPA continues to make headway in restoring power across Long Island, having now brought back electricity to 99 percent of those customers who lost power during Hurricane Sandy and the subsequent Nor’easter who can safely accept power as of Monday. With restoration efforts nearing completion and having re-established power to more than 1.1 million customers, LIPA continues to work to provide community services to support those who cannot accept power due to flood damage to their homes or businesses.

A New York customer sent us an email to thank the crews for their hard work:

As a homeowner in Commack, New York, I felt that I should be writing to your company to express our gratitude to your workers.  That they left their family and traveled all the way to Commack in our time of frustration and need for their service.  Your company should feel very proud that they were represented by the group of lineman that came to Commack.  They were very professional and courteous.  So I would like to say thank you once more.

We are pleased that the restoration process is nearing completion and that our friends in New York are resuming with their normal day to day activities.

Wishing our crews a safe trip home!

Superstorm Sandy Restoration: Update!

Our Superstorm Sandy Restoration Team of 33 MLGW employees has made it safely to Long Island, NY.

They arrived Sunday and started restoration on Monday, working 16-hour shifts as they do when we are in emergency restoration mode here in Shelby County.

The crews have been performing tasks such as re-setting poles and power lines, and installing transformers.

The big difference, of course, is that they are hundreds of miles away from home, and due to the lack of lodging space, are sleeping in trailers that have been set up with bunk beds.

Steve Ledford, General Supervisor, Distribution Support, reports that the crews are in good spirits and know that they are part of a nationwide effort to restore power to the residents of the Northeast.

The staging area includes more than 3,000 workers from across the nation! As of this afternoon, the Long Island Power Authority's outage map shows more than 198,000 customers still without power.

Living Quarters

Living Quarters

Crew in good spirits!

MLGW Crews to Assist with Hurricane Sandy Restoration

Thirty-three MLGW employees will join restoration efforts in Long Island this weekend in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy. The hurricane left millions along the East Coast without power, with Long Island being a particularly hard-hit area.

The employees will assist with repairing overhead and underground services. In addition to linemen, MLGW is also sending specialists to assist in the restoration of Long Island’s underground electric network. MLGW will also cover the linemen’s efforts here on the blog as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

Long Island Power Authority reported more than 650,000 customers without power as of Thursday afternoon. The MLGW crews will join local and out-of-state utility workers who are collaborating on the massive restoration effort.

“The Northeast faces a tremendous restoration effort,” said MLGW President and CEO Jerry Collins Jr. “Just as other utilities have assisted us in the past, MLGW is committed to helping restore power to the residents of Long Island.”

MLGW Remembers Historic Storms, Flood of 2011

In the spring and summer of 2011, the Southern U.S. experienced one of the most devastating storm seasons in recent memory. Deadly tornadoes ravaged cities such as Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Joplin, Missouri, and storms wreaked havoc on an unprecedented level. Several cities, including the Tennessee cities of Knoxville and Chattanooga, experienced their largest power outages ever.

While the Memphis area did not sustain a storm of that magnitude, 2011 was historic for MLGW in that the utility experienced five different storms that affected 50,000 customers or more. Before 2011, MLGW had never sustained more than two such incidents in a single year.

For each of these storms -- three of which hit Shelby County in April -- MLGW’s restoration process kicked into gear, with crews working around-the-clock to repair damage and restore power, and MLGW providing continuous information about their progress.

With a February 2011 storm still fresh in memory, another struck on April 4, resulting in the fifth worst storm in terms of damage in MLGW’s history; 71,000 customers were affected. Over 100 MLGW crews and 20 outside crews worked around the clock to complete full restoration within a week. 

On the evening of April 19, the next major storm knocked out power to 64,000 customers; with 120 MLGW and outside crews working, full restoration occurred three days later. [Restoration video.]

On April 26, the last major storm struck, knocking out power to 55,600 customers during a recovery that took four days to complete.

With each storm, as crews worked to restore service, MLGW also provided a steady stream of information to customers through its call center, www.mlgw.com, local news media as well as via social media. In April 2011, MLGW’s Twitter account, @MLGW, sent out an estimated 1,600 tweets, not including direct messages with customers.

No sooner was restoration completed when a new challenge emerged: the May 2011 flood. MLGW served a more complementary role in the flood response, assisting FEMA, Shelby County and the City of Memphis by disconnecting utilities to affected areas, assisting with sandbagging, and providing information to customers affected by the flooding. [Flood Assistance Video.]

Flood Update

The Commercial Appeal has a nice recap of local flood news in today's paper.

Our friends over at Nashville Electric Service also sent us an update. Their West Service Center, including their West Substation, was flooded and 15 employees had to be rescued from the roof on Sunday. They lost 37 trucks, including 19 bucket trucks, as well as one-third of the materials and tools that their linemen use to restore power.

On the good news front, their outages are down from 42,000 to 3,800 currently. Unfortunately, most of downtown is out and will remain out until at least Friday.

They've been relying heavily on Facebook and Twitter to communicate with their customers, with much success.

Here are a few pictures they sent:







We're keeping everyone in our thoughts and hoping that things return to normal as soon as possible.

Nashville

Thinking of our friends in Nashville, hoping everything gets back to normal soon.



If you’d like to help, consider donating to the relief efforts by the Middle Tennessee chapters of the American Red Cross.

Customer Care Center Donates Water to Haiti

The employees of the Customer Care Center have a BIG heart when it comes to helping others. They recently donated 117 cases of water to the people of Haiti. "Helping people is what we do daily and when a need arises, we reach into our pockets and come to the rescue," says Barbara Martin, Section Supervisor.



Our employees have donated money on several occasions to pay a customer's bill to keep their utilities on. (Remember this?)

MIFA Meals needs your help!

Next week, MIFA Meals will be preparing bags of shelf-stable food items for 300-600 new clients, since many of them have lost their refrigerated and frozen food due to spoilage. MIFA needs all the volunteers they can get next week to help with pack-out.

If you have some spare time any day next week between 8:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., please stop by MIFA to help pack these meals for our senior clients - even if you can only come for half an hour, your help will be greatly appreciated! No appointments or scheduling necessary - just show up, and their staff will put you to work.

Restoration process underway

Restoration process underway

Nearly 30,000 customers restored

At least one week before all power is restored

(June 13, 2009 11 am)— Memphis Light, Gas and Water crews are working to restore power to more than 101,000 customers that lost power after strong winds and thunderstorms moved through Memphis and Shelby County yesterday afternoon. Due to the great extent of downed trees and power lines, MLGW estimates that it will be AT LEAST one week before power will be restored to all customers.

An additional 28 crews from Chattanooga and Nashville are on their way to assist MLGW crews as well as 61 tree trimming crews.

As of 11 a.m., MLGW had restored power to nearly 30,000 customers since the storm. The current number of customers without power is approximately 101,000.

For now, MLGW’s first priority for restoration is to restore all critical care facilities such as water pumping stations, hospitals and nursing homes. Restoration priority is then given to those repairs that will bring on the largest number of customers in the shortest amount of time.

Generator Safety

If customers are using a generator, it must be properly ventilated for customer safety. Place generators outside, not in an enclosed area. It is not safe to place generators inside a garage, even if the garage door is left cracked or open.
Weatherheads

Some customers may have damage to their weatherheads. The weatherhead is usually located above the roofline or attached to the gable or side of the house where the customer’s wiring connects to MLGW’s electric lines. The weatherhead is the homeowner's property and therefore, is not maintained by MLGW. If it is damaged, a customer must have it repaired by a licensed electrician and inspected by Code Enforcement before MLGW can restore your power. http://mlgw.com/images/weather_head.jpg

Updates

Customers should call 544-6500 to report outages and 528-4465 to report emergencies such as sparking electric lines or gas leaks. MLGW is also providing updates through Twitter at www.twitter.com/mlgw.

MLGW Helps Mayfield

This morning, a convoy of 12 MLGW trucks left the North Service Center and began the three-hour drive to Mayfield, KY, a city rendered powerless by this week’s snow and ice storms.

As part of a mutual aid agreement, 21 MLGW employees—or three six-man crews, two supervisors and a mechanic—will work closely with Mayfield Electric & Water Systems and other utilities to clear downed power lines and restore power to Mayfield’s more than 10,000 residents. The crews will be in Mayfield for an unspecified amount of time. (In recent years mutual aid agreements have assisted MLGW in restoring power after windstorms and tornadoes. The utility asking for the assistance is responsible for all costs associated with recovery efforts, including salaries and lodging out of town assistance.)


For those of you interested in learning about the restoration efforts in Kentucky, nineteen year-old blogger, Steven Devine, is providing weather reports, outage updates, and general weather info on his blog West Kentucky Weather.

If you haven’t seen some of the devastation that last week’s ice storm has had across the U.S. including Kentucky, Arkansas and Missouri, here are a few links to some good articles:

Crews make some progress on ice storm outages

Ky. hit with record number of power outages

Residents face long, icy wait for power to return

Thousands still in dark; water running short

There are still more than 1.3 million people without power right now.

Photos courtesy of the Associated Press

Disaster Assistance

News from Volunteer Memphis...

Hurricane Gustav and Hannah are strengthening and evacuees from Mississippi, New Orleans, and Louisiana may need Memphians help once more.

IF a disaster is declared by FEMA, Volunteers will be needed ASAP for the Following:

Welcome Center: involves identifying, photographing, initial reporting, and the placement and tracking of evacuees.

Shelters: involves assisting with morale, distribution of initial goods and services, and staffing a call center at each location.

Additional support of Emergency Management agencies such as Red Cross, EMA, Health Department, and local Shelby County Disaster Relief Agencies is also needed.

Any and all Volunteers are welcomed to register. Contact Barron Rutledge at (901) 523-2425 ext 213 or brutledge@volunteermemphis.org.

Volunteer Memphis
DATE: Possibly as early as August 31, 2008
TIME: Call in anytime to register to Volunteer
LOCATION: Will be disclosed upon declaration of disaster
MORE: Volunteer Memphis will match volunteers with disaster relief volunteer opportunities upon declaration of disaster.

MLGW Credit Assistance for Customers Impacted by Disasters

When the President of the USA declares a disaster in Shelby County, MLGW's current credit policy allows flexibility at the supervisors’ level to assist in meeting the needs of our customers.

Residential Customers impacted by disasters such as earthquakes, tornados, etc. who have lost a job due to the disaster, experience death of an immediate family member, or sustain significant property damage can qualify for payment arrangements without paying 25% of the total bill up front. They can also qualify for deferred billing plans up to 12 months.

Customers must come into an MLGW office to make arrangements 45 days from the date of the disaster and show proof of hardship (i.e. FEMA claim, insurance claim, community assistance agency supporting documents).

Community Services Disaster Relief Fund

From The Commercial Appeal:

Relief fund to assist victims of tornado
Financial aid available for Shelby Countians

By Alex Doniach
Thursday, February 14, 2008

Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton and former congressman Harold Ford Jr. called on the community Wednesday to assist victims of last week's tornado.

Wharton said in a press conference that Shelby County has launched a "Community Services Disaster Relief Fund" to assist people whose property was destroyed or who are out of work because their workplace was shut down as a result of last week's storm.

"We want a locally based fund without a lot of red tape that ... would be able to give immediate assistance to get people back to work, get their vehicles repaired, those types of things," Wharton said.

Ford said while FEMA did a "pretty decent job this go around," this fund would help those people who don't qualify for a specific FEMA aid package -- a "fall through the cracks" effort, according to Wharton.

And while Wharton did not specify a fund-raising goal, he has asked Gov. Phil Bredesen for $250,000 and also indicated he would be ask the County Commission for aid funds.

A representative from Wal-Mart presented a $5,000 check Wednesday to jump start the effort, and The Harold Ford Jr. Charitable Fund donated $2,500.

Wharton reminded those at the press conference of the damage to businesses in the Hickory Hill area. The Hardy Bottling Company in Southeast Memphis, for example, was completely destroyed, and though no employees were injured, about 170 employees are out of work.

John W. Moore, president of the Memphis Regional Chamber, said the reach of the damage has not been fully realized, but he estimates at least 22 larger facilities sustained damage.

With possible exceptions for special needs cases, the fund will generally address the following:

Utility assistance and rent/mortgage assistance for workers who have been suspended from jobs due to damage to their workplace.

Meal assistance to low-income families who were without electricity for an extended period.

Minor home and building repairs for select homes that sustained damage, especially those of the elderly.

"If government can't help at a time like this, when can it help?" Wharton said.

For assistance from this program, call the Mayor's Assistance Center at 545-4311.

Companies or organizations interested in donating to the funs should call the Mayor's office at 545-4500.

DHS Emergency Assistance for Tornado Victims

Food Stamp Replacement Benefits

• If a Food Stamp program participant lost food due to a power outage (24 hours or more), the current month’s benefits are replaced.

• If a Food Stamp EBT card was lost or damaged, replacement cards are available at the DHS county office, Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Low Income Emergency Cash Assistance

One-time cash payments of $250 (1-2 person household), $500 (3-4 persons), or $750 (5 or more) are available to:

• Applicants displaced from their homes.

• Applicants with a household income that does not exceed 125% of the federal poverty guidelines.

Eligibility will be determined at time of application.

For more information, go to the closest DHS Office or call the DHS Family Assistance Service Center (toll-free 1-866-311-4287) Mon - Fri 7:00Am - 5:30 PM.

Power On, Relief Center Open

MLGW News

Significant repairs to substation 71 on Friday allowed MLGW to energize the facility and return power to residents and businesses in Hickory Hill.

Customers still without power may have damage to their weatherheads. The weatherhead is usually located above the roofline or attached to the gable or side of the house where the customer’s wiring connects to MLGW’s electric lines. The weatherhead is the homeowner’s property and therefore, is not maintained by MLGW. If it is damaged, a customer must have it repaired by a licensed electrician and inspected by Code Enforcement before MLGW can restore power.

FEMA News

The Federal Emergency Management Agency opened a disaster relief center at 7 a.m. today at the Hickory Hill Community Center, 3910 Ridgeway.

FEMA officials are asking victims of Tuesday's tornadoes to register online or by phone before visiting the center.

To register, call 1-800-621-3362 or visit fema.gov

Also, representatives from the Red Cross and the Salvation Army will be at the center today to offer aid.

After the Storm

Federal Assistance
Today Bush declared parts of Shelby County a disaster area. This action makes federal funds, including lower-interest loans, available to residents of Shelby county. Grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and "other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster," are now available.

Hickory Hill Community Meeting
There will be a community meeting at Greater Community Temple (5151 Winchester) on Saturday from 2-5 p.m. Representatives from the police, fire, City, County, etc. will be there, as well as many MLGW representatives from all over the company.

Substation 71
Expect to see and hear a lot about Substation 71, as the media is going on a tour there at 10:30am to see the damage first hand.