Thousands remain without power; boil water advisory for some in Shelby County

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - The extremely frigid temperatures continue to cause a strain on the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) power generation facilities.

Saturday morning, TVA once again mandated all utility power distributors, including Memphis, Light, Gas and Water (MLGW), to curtail electric service by 10%.

What this means in real terms is that MLGW will begin interrupting service to areas of the system “for 30-minute periods.” This process is commonly called “rolling blackouts.”

The blackouts have since been halted, but TVA says they continue to deal with record-setting power demand.

MLGW still urges customers to conserve energy usage and avoid using items that require a lot of energy, like washers and dryers.

A boil water advisory was issued for residents in southeast and north Shelby County.

MLGW says water line breaks and production issues caused those areas to lose water pressure. This includes southeast Memphis, Germantown and Millington.

MLGW customers in those areas are advised to boil their tap water for three minutes before consuming it, or use bottled water.

One water pressure is restored, the Shelby County Health Department recommends taking these steps:

• Turn on the main water valve if it was turned off.
• Flush any faucet a minimum of two minutes to ensure the water line is cleared. If applicable, begin with the faucet highest in your home or building, then open other faucets one at a time, moving from the highest floor to lowest.
• Discard any ice made during the boil water notice.
• Check water filters in faucets, refrigerators and other appliances and replace if necessary.
• Owners and managers of buildings should ensure the entire water system is flushed and that water storage tanks are drained and refilled.

You can check the MLGW outage map here.

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