MLGW committee hears $51M fiscal-consent briefing; utility urges fast build of private 5G network

Memphis Light, Gas and Water officials told City Council committees on May 20 that a large fiscal-consent package covering vehicle and equipment purchases, maintenance contracts and grid modernization work would be filed for council action, and emphasized a privately licensed 5G backbone the utility must build on a compressed schedule.

The briefing covered roughly $51 million in funding requests that MLGW staff said will bring the utility’s year-to-date approvals near $238 million. Officials highlighted a one-year, $3.2 million contract for UAV inspection of electric distribution lines and a multiyear private LTE/5G (PLTE) wireless network project the utility said must be completed within a tight timeframe tied to the Federal Communications Commission license.

The UAV program, MLGW President Doug McGowan said, “allows us to identify failures that we could not see from the ground without climbing every individual pole.” McGowan said machine-learning analysis applied to the drone imagery will help identify defects that are otherwise invisible from the ground.

McGowan described the PLTE/private 5G contract as the backbone of the utility’s distribution automation and grid modernization work, allowing advanced distribution management and faster automated switching during outages. He told committee members the contract term is 60 months overall but that the construction and operational coverage requirement must be met within three years, with a target completion by July 2028. McGowan said the utility is working with Nokia as a contracted partner and warned the license could expire if the build is not completed on schedule: “We have to meet that deadline or else our license expires for that 5G license that we have.”

Councilman Ford asked about the schedule: “Is there a way we’re going to get that finished before 60 months?” MLGW staff said the project has to meet an internal coverage threshold (staff referenced a target of roughly three-quarters of the population served) and that the utility will provide frequent updates to the FCC as construction proceeds. McGowan said MLGW has a build team and contractor partners, but acknowledged supply-chain and materials constraints could complicate the timeline.

Other items on the consent briefing included: the aerator maintenance contract (annual renewal) for water pumping stations; an extension of records-management contracts through March 31, 2026; recurring document shredding ($116,000 through March 2026); purchases of mini excavators ($167,000) and two large excavators for major water projects; a one-time purchase of six 4x4 light-duty trucks; locksmith services ($50,000); a $187,000 parking-garage waterproofing project for Level B of the Administration Building garage; an office-supplies contract (four-year agreement, roughly $2.4 million); pest control (third of four renewals, $59,000); and courier services (fourth and final renewal, $152,000). McGowan said many of those routine maintenance and fleet items support daily operations across electric, gas and water divisions.

Committee members did not take final votes on the entire consent package during the briefing. McGowan said he expected to request a vote later that evening. He urged committees to move the PLTE item quickly because of the license deadline and the compressed construction schedule.

MLGW officials said they will return with procurement resolutions and asked council members to track the PLTE timeline closely; staff said they will provide schedule and coverage updates as the project advances.