At today’s Memphis Light, Gas and Water Special Called Board of Commissioners meeting, President and CEO J.T. Young recommended to award the Tennessee Valley Authority a long-term contract for supplying power to MLGW under MLGW’s renewable and other alternative resources RFP.

In addition, Young asked that the Board reject all proposals MLGW received for new transmission lines and thermal generation.

The Board will take the matter under advisement. The public will be allowed a minimum of 30 days to comment and ask questions about the plan by emailing PowerSupply@mlgw.org.

MLGW’s Power Supply Evaluation Team, led by GDS & Associates, determined that TVA’s Long-Term Partnership Proposal “demonstrates the greatest value and least risk” for MLGW customers compared to all other RFP alternatives. MLGW is expected to see $152 million in power supply cost savings over the next five years and $944 million over 25 years. These savings would start after the contract is executed.

For the first five years, the average residential customer would save about $32 a year on their electric utility bill.

In addition, the team concluded that TVA’s contract “includes more flexibility,” allowing MLGW to install solar generation to support local renewable and sustainability goals and be more directly involved in TVA’s planning and decision making.

In June, GDS & Associates said it would cost $1.2 billion and take up to eight years to build two major transmission facilities that cross the Mississippi River to connect to different power suppliers.

During the 2021 Request for Proposals period, 24 vendors submitted proposals responding to MLGW’s Transmission, Thermal Generation, and Renewables and Other Requests for Proposals. The purpose was to confirm the 2020 findings outlined in the Integrated Resource Plan completed by Siemens Industry, Inc.

Numerous changes in the electric industry (and nationwide) have taken effect since MLGW’s IRP was completed in 2020. For instance, increased interest rates, high inflation, and supply chain constraints are just a few risks MLGW would be forced to navigate by changing suppliers.

In the end, TVA’s Long-Term Partnership Proposal differs from what MLGW currently has with TVA. The existing contract with TVA has a five-year notice of termination and no discounts on base rate charges and no flexibility to own or deploy MLGW renewable projects. The new TVA proposal is identical to other TVA wholesale customers: a 20-year termination notice, a 3.1 % decrease in base rate charge, and up to 5 % in acquired renewables to meet the utility company’s energy needs.

MLGW’s Power Supply Evaluation Team found TVA to be the most cost-effective power supply arrangement and offers MLGW customers immediate savings. Please visit mlgw.com/powersupplyinfo to review the vendors’ submitted proposals.

MLGW is the largest three-service public power utility in the nation, serving more than 440,000 customers in Memphis and Shelby County.