MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In tonight’s Ransom Note: don’t look now, but the ball is rolling again on the MLGW possibly splitting from the Tennessee Valley Authority to buy our electricity.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland says it’s time to finally find out once and for all. If the city can really reap the kind of huge savings several studies have shown is possible or whether sticking with the TVA as our source for power is still the best option.
Thank goodness.
This has dragged on long enough and it’s partly because MLGW deeps acting like it doesn’t want to know the answer.
And I get it. As TVA’s number one customer for eighty years, the two are joined at the hip.
In fact, earlier this month, MLGW’s CEO JT Young suggested the process, which has already dragged on for almost three year, just be put on hold indefinitely.
But Mayor Strickland clearly disagrees and has brokered a deal that should finally put this out for bid with binding price and rate quotes, comparing apples to apples, and finding out what’s best for MLGW customers.
And just so this doesn’t drag on for another two or three years, Strickland has inserted his administration into the bidding process.
He wants an answer in 7-11 months. We all do.
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