Memphis utility officials present $250 million electric bond proposal and a package of equipment and service contracts

Memphis Light, Gas and Water officials told the council they will ask the full council to approve 2025 electric system revenue bonds of up to $250 million and recommended several consent-agenda contracts covering construction, equipment, software and insurance.

The proposal for the electric system revenue bonds and the consent items were described at a committee meeting by Alonzo Weaver, senior vice president and chief operating officer, and a finance official who reviewed the financial and procurement measures that staff plan to bring forward.

The bond issuance is listed as a regular agenda item for the evening with an amount “not to exceed $250,000,000” for the electric division, according to Rod Klee Kimolzew (vice president/CFO/treasurer). Kimolzew said there was a related consent-item resolution to appoint bond professionals for the issuance, with Raymond James named as senior manager and several co-managers and advisors listed on the proposed team.

Weaver and staff also summarized 12 consent items recommended for award or renewal. Major items included a one‑year contract for drilled pier foundation installation ($200,000 to Chris Hill Construction Company); a one‑year right‑of‑way mowing and tree trimming contract ($750,000 to ABC Professional Tree Services); and an LNG‑facility fire/hazard panel replacement ($261,000).

Information‑technology and cybersecurity purchases included a 60‑month award ($371,000 to CDW Government Inc.) to stand up a virtual server environment to meet North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) requirements, and a 12‑month software renewal ($409,000 to Thomas Consultants) for a desktop/endpoint management product used across the utility’s roughly 2,200 desktops and laptops.

Fleet and equipment purchases listed included a Class 6 bucket truck replacement, 21 half‑ton four‑wheel‑drive pickup trucks (funded at just over $1 million to Lonnie Cab Ford Inc.), and a sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) service unit with trailer used in substations. Facilities work included a reroof for the Hickory Hill service center (about $722,000). The packet also included a one‑year property and boiler insurance policy ($2.5 million premium) with FM Global covering roughly $1.38 billion of insured value; staff said the premium was nearly 16% lower than last year after increasing deductibles to $1 million per incident.

Kimolzew noted the consent package and the bond‑issuance item together would bring the council’s year‑to‑date approvals to about $245 million, up from approximately $238 million through May 20. He invited questions from council members; none were raised that required changes to the package at the committee presentation.

Because the bond issuance is set as a regular agenda item for the evening, committee discussion at this meeting was informational; formal council votes on the bond issuance and the consent items were scheduled for the full council meeting.

Staff reiterated that NERC standards inform the utility’s cybersecurity and physical‑system work, and that the bond‑professional appointments shown in the consent materials would appear on the regular agenda for approval alongside the bond issuance.