(April 26, 2011 - 8:00 p.m.) - Tonight's first storm front has brought high winds, lightning and possible tornadoes that have caused about 24,000 outages. MLGW has received reports of downed poles, lines and trees in the aftermath of this storm.

MLGW first addresses safety issues such as downed power lines, then moves to repair transmission lines and towers that provide power from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to MLGW substations. The early portion of the restoration process focuses on substations, circuits that represent larger groups of customers, and critical facilities such as water pumping stations, hospitals, and other essential facilities. Essentially, MLGW crews start with the transmission lines and substations, and work their way down the system to the individual customers.

The areas with the heaviest damage have the longest restoration times. With storms such as those we've seen in April thus far, restoration involves multiple MLGW crews performing repairs. For example, an MLGW troubleshooter may be sent out to analyze a problem. If the problem is simple, the troubleshooter may be able to repair it on the spot. However, for a restoration process like this one, with heavy damages, a troubleshooter needs to call in tree trimmers and overhead crews to clear an area. Once the tree trimmers complete their task, an overhead line crew might be necessary to repair or replace poles or lines. MLGW crews must wait until safe weather conditions exist before they can begin repairs.

MLGW has already requested 20 out of town crews to assist with the restoration. More could be called in if the subsequent storms bring additional damages.

MLGW customers are asked to call 544-6500 to report outages and 528-4465 to report emergencies such as downed power lines. MLGW will also provide updates via Twitter (www.twitter.com/mlgw) and Facebook (www.facebook/mlgw1).