Restoration Update 8:30am

As of 8:30 a.m., MLGW crews have restored power to about 36,000 of about 50,000 customers affected by yesterday’s storm that brought damaging winds in excess of 70 MPH. The high winds caused a great deal of tree, line and pole damage across the county.

MLGW crews will continue to work 24 hours a day, in 16-hour shifts in order to restore power. In addition, MLGW's Customer Care Center will be open overnight tonight to assist customers.

Provided that no additional inclement weather hits the area, MLGW is still estimating that it could be Wednesday night before all customers are restored, though most customers should have power before then.

About 140 MLGW crews will be in the field today performing troubleshooting, tree trimming and pole and line repairs. MLGW will be assisted by 19 out of town crews from Nashville, Chattanooga, and Indiana.

With the heat index expected to be 102 degrees today, MLGW urges customers without power to follow heat safety tips provided by the Shelby County Health Department and the American Red Cross.

Customers can report outages to MLGW by calling its outage hotline at 544-6500 to make sure their outage is logged in the system. To report an outage, customers will need to have their account number or the phone number that's associated with their account.

To report an emergency such as downed wires or gas leaks, please call 528-4465. This number should be treated like 911 and only used for these types of emergencies.

Restoration Process

MLGW first addresses safety issues such as downed power lines, then moves to repair transmission lines and towers that provide power from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to MLGW substations. The early portion of the restoration process focuses on substations, circuits that represent larger groups of customers, and critical facilities such as water pumping stations, hospitals, and other essential facilities. Essentially, MLGW crews start with the transmission lines and substations, and work their way down the system to the individual customers.

Areas with the heaviest damage have the longest restoration times. With this storm, restoration involves multiple MLGW crews performing repairs. For example, an MLGW troubleshooter may be sent out to analyze a problem. If the problem is simple, the troubleshooter may be able to repair it. However, for a restoration process like this one, with heavy damages, a troubleshooter needs to call in tree trimmers and overhead crews to clear an area. Once the tree trimmers complete their task, an overhead line crew might be necessary to repair or replace poles or lines.

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. An example of a weatherhead can be found here.

New MLGW iPhone App Allows Customers to Check Outage Status

MLGW's new iPhone app is available for free download in the Apple iTunes app store at www.apple.com or through iPhone, iPod, or iPad devices. One of the app's most useful features is the ability for customers to be able to check the status of an outage at their address. Customers will need the phone number associated with their MLGW account and the last four numbers of their social security number or 16-digit account number.

Generator Safety Tips

• Never use a generator indoors or in an enclosed area such as a garage. Generators emit toxic carbon monoxide from the engine exhaust.

• A generator should only be operated in a well-ventilated and dry area, away from air intakes to the home.

• Do not attempt to restore power to your entire house by plugging the generator into a wall outlet. The electricity produced by a generator can ruin your home’s wiring and start a fire, and can also feed back into the utility system and energize a line thought to be without power possibly killing utility workers trying to restore power. It can also cause damage to the generator when electric service is restored.

• Handle fuel carefully. Turn the generator off prior to refueling. Gasoline, kerosene and other flammable liquids should be stored outside of living areas in properly labeled safety containers.

• Turn off or disconnect all appliances prior to operating a portable generator. Once the generator is running, appliances powered by the generator can be turned on one at a time.

Important MLGW contact information for customers:
• Outage Reporting: 544-6500
• Emergency: 528-4465
• Customer Care Center: 544-MLGW (6549)
• www.twitter.com/mlgw
• www.facebook.com/mlgw1