MEMPHIS, Tenn. — There's soon to be new leadership atop Memphis, Light, Gas & Water.
Tuesday, the Memphis City Council voted to approve Doug McGowen to take over the nation's largest three-service utility that serves more than 400,000 customers.
McGowen promised swift action in his first year on the job, but most importantly, improving reliability so fewer of us are in the dark the next time a major or minor storm hits.
The Memphis City Council approved McGowen in a 12-1 vote, with only member Martavius Jones voting no. Jones supported a nationwide search.
McGowen, the city of Memphis' Chief Operating Officer, touted his leadership overseeing another utility: the city's sewer and sanitation system and co-chairing MLGW's Outage Improvement Advisory Team.
McGowen also told the Memphis City Council his priorities will be accelerating infrastructure improvements to limit lengthy outages from winter or summer storms.
"You cannot physically bury all of the lines, you cannot chop down all of the trees but there is a tradeoff so people just have to recognize that we have to make choices and some of those are going to have to be tough but we are going to have to do that because I think what people don't like at the end of the day is to have power that they can't rely upon," McGowen said.
He also promised to prioritize broadband to help MLGW be a driver in Memphis' future development, all while always putting ratepayers first.
"Change doesn't come for free, we have to make sure we have the resources necessary to get the job done, we have to be sensitive to the customers' needs and I said my #1 priority is to make sure we earn our customers business each and every day. That comes with a lot of requirements. I have to be sensitive to their needs, I have to make sure I have the capacity to serve their needs," McGowen said.
The customer advocacy group '21st Century Memphis Or Bust' responded in a statement that read in part: "We hope to see big improvements in reliability and communication with customers at MLGW. From what we've seen, (Doug McGowen) is already very motivated. Of course, if we don't see the change benefiting all Memphians, we will be there to keep the pressure on MLGW."
McGowen is expected to take over MLGW within the month but it's not clear if he'll be leading the utility on November 16, when the MLGW board could vote whether to keep the Tennessee Valley Authority as MLGW's power supplier for the next 25 years.
He told ABC24 it's too early for him to comment on whether he supports that recommendation made by McGowen's predecessor at MLGW, J.T. Young.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said McGowen's salary will remain the same as Young's when he stepped down last month.