MEMPHIS, Tenn. — MLGW moved their self-imposed deadline of Thursday for Memphians to have their power back to Friday.
One Memphis family hopes that includes them after their neighbors' power was restored, but they still can’t get the lights back on.
Annie Johnson and her family are on their seventh day of no power to their home on Shofner Drive in Whitehaven even though their neighbors do.
"Both my neighbors next door to me, all the neighbors on the same side of the street as me, all their services are on," Johnson said.
Johnson left her home to stay with family in East Memphis, much further from her job. She said MLGW crews repaired power lines to her house on Monday after a tree had fallen on them. She got a notification her power was restored.
"About time we made it home, the power was out again and they said it was something to do with an assessment Memphis Light Gas and Water needed to do," Johnson said.
MLGW has cautioned homeowners to check their weatherheads or meter boxes for damage. A third-party electrician would have to fix those items before MLGW can restore power. There doesn’t appear to be damage to the Johnsons' weatherhead or meter box, but their yard is still a mess.
On top of MLGW power wires, the fallen tree also ripped the Xfinity cable box off the wall leaving wires running from the back of the house, through the yard to the power pole in the back, but the Johnson’s says they can’t get any answer from MLGW or Xfinity if that internet problem has anything to do with their actual power.
When the Johnson's looked up their home on MLGW’s website on Wednesday, it shows her outage is around 48 hours dating back to Monday. They argue it's closer to 170 hours. It also shows the house being the only customer on her street affected.
"The person I spoke with said there’s nothing they could tell me. Nothing they could do. I just had to wait," Johnson said.
With MLGW’s self-imposed deadline just a few days away, she’s wondering if she could be waiting much longer than Friday.
"I’m having to stay away from home all this time. My house is getting cold. I’m afraid my pipes are gonna freeze and burst," Johnson said.