Link between MLGW outages and Valero emergency flaring raises public concerns
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - An MLGW power failure triggered an emergency burn-off at the Valero oil refinery in Memphis, sending plumes of thick, potentially toxic smoke into the air.
Action News 5 learned more about the issue at MLGW that sent Valero workers scrambling into crisis mode in Memphis while also knocking out the lights in Mississippi.
MLGW is one of 153 power companies that use TVA transmission lines, and when MLGW experienced a major “voltage fluctuation” Tuesday night, Shelby County’s problem became a problem for utility crews across state lines.
Drone video showed flames shooting out of two stacks at the Valero Oil Refinery in South Memphis. The thick black smoke was visible from downtown to East Memphis, clearly seen from inside the Clark Tower on Poplar Avenue. The odor spread far and wide, too.
“The smell is awful.” Teena posted to Twitter. “South Main smells like a tar pit,” tweeted FUT. “I smell something funny in South Millington,” said JimNoChance in a post.
At the same time Valero experienced an emergency burn-off, the lights flickered across more than just the MLGW coverage area.
“Weird this affected folks as far north as Brighton and south as Olive Branch” Eddie posted. “And Oakland to the East,” replied Jennifer.
Tuesday, MLGW said “an event” at a substation caused a drop in voltage across the distribution system.
Wednesday, MLGW provided more details in this statement:
Justin Jaggers, spokesperson for Northcentral Electric in Olive Branch provided the following statement to Action News 5:
The Shelby County Health Department assured that an investigation into the environmental impact is underway, saying:
MLGW customers’ have reacted, citing their concerns with one writing, ““We’ve been having a lot of “events’ lately,” tweeted kobomemphis.
Another customer tweeted that these ‘events are getting old,” twitter user ruw2117 added.
Valero had another emergency burn-off in February 2021 when cold weather froze the equipment.
Read more about that report here.
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