MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Utility companies in the Mid-South are preparing for what could hit the area in the coming days with Hurricane Francine on its way.
MGLW has a history with power outages. President and CEO Doug McGowan said they have hired additional crews from Thursday through this weekend.
He said they've been working to address one of their biggest issues of tree trimming after last year's storm, which led to many outages.
McGowan said despite preparation, they may not stop trees from coming down due to Hurricane Francine.
"The unfortunate part is with the very heavy rains and the saturated grounds and gusty winds, that can't prevent very large trees and very large limbs from eventually coming down," he said. "We only trim back 10 to 15 feet from the line so if some very tall tree is impacted by the winds, it will potentially cause an outage."
According to McGowan, they had a goal of tree trimming 1,398 miles last year. He said so far, they completed 1,640 miles for tree trimming.
McGowan said at this time, they are ahead of schedule to trimming trees.
Candace Coleman with Entergy Mississippi said they are also ready to serve their 459,000 customers. She suggests people at home to follow a few suggestions to prepare for Hurricane Francine.
Coleman said customers need to review their storm plan. She said part of that plan includes making sure your family and friends are aware of your centralized location. Coleman said customers should gather essentials such as first aid kits, flashlights, and a fully charged phone. The third recommendation is to know where your important documents and medications are located.
"For those households that have people in them who depend on life support or medical equipment, it is especially important to have a plan, to have a back generating system," Coleman said.
The rainfall from Hurricane Francine could possibly impact the Cooper Young Festival on Saturday.
Alchemy restaurant owner Nick Scott said that event is a huge revenue booster for businesses in that area. He said he's hoping the storm won't interfere with the festival.
"There's thousands and thousands of people that will be on the street on Saturday, so it's something we plan for every year. It's a big day, so we're hoping for the best," Scott said.
According to Scott, power outages haven't impacted his restaurant in the 10 years he's owned it. He said should outages happen; they are prepared to move products to neighboring businesses.
"Our goal is just to be here, be prepared and make sure we have plenty of product for everyone in the instance that everyone in the area loses power," he said.
Coleman said should power outages occur for Entergy Mississippi customers, they have a free app where customers can view the outage map and their storm center online. She also suggests for people to follow their social media platforms for the latest updates.