MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As Memphis Light Gas and Water's tree trimming project is still underway throughout the city with 90 crews tackling overgrown trees, which can knock down power lines down during severe weather, one South Memphis community is dealing with constant power outages regardless of the weather.
“We’ve known that this infrastructure has been bad since 1994, since the ice storm. And what do we get?" South Memphis resident Frank Johnson said. "We have not seen an upgrade in our infrastructure.”
These residents said they’ve been dealing with rolling power outages since at least mid-June of this year.
“Our neighborhood is majority elderly," Debbie Bolden, who has lived in the neighborhood for over 50 years, said. "You can’t take a bath, the lights out. You can’t cook, the lights are out."
These Memphians said the lights are on and then go off with no explanation.
“It starts early in the afternoon; power goes off comes back immediately, then goes comes back on immediately, then it goes off, and it's gone. Every day," resident Sherri Wade said.
Despite the constant outages, going on two months now, residents said they’re still getting bills sometimes averaging nearly $500.
"When y’all want that utility bill, don’t you want it right then and there?" Bolden asked. "How come we can’t get lights right then and there?”
“I came out of pocket of about $500 two weeks ago, even though half of the month I didn’t have utilities," Johnson said.
We reached out to MLGW, and they told us they are working on our request.