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MLGW seeks $250 million bond to fund grid modernization; committee sends authorization to full council
Summary
Memphis Light, Gas & Water presented a consent package including a proposed issuance of up to $250 million in electric system revenue bonds for transformers, circuit breakers and grid‑modernization components; the committee moved the enabling resolution forward to the full council with a positive recommendation.
Doug McGowan, president and CEO of Memphis Light, Gas & Water, briefed council members on a multi‑item consent agenda and a proposed bond issuance to finance long‑lived electric system equipment and grid modernization.
"To date, you all have approved $267,000,000 of spending for MLGW. Today we're requesting about that same amount, dollars $268,000,000," McGowan said at the start of the MLGW presentation. He framed the $250 million bond as a component of a multi‑year $984 million to $1.3 billion program of transmission and distribution investments.
McGowan said bond proceeds will be used for capital items with long life spans—transformers and circuit breakers—that are appropriate to fund with long‑term debt. Bond counsel explained the process: the council would adopt an enabling resolution allowing the city to issue bonds on behalf of MLGW, prepare a preliminary official statement for prospective purchasers and engage rating agencies before pricing and sale.
Council members raised no substantive objections at the committee level; the committee voted to send the resolution to the full council with a positive recommendation to proceed with the required documents and sale process. Council counsel and MLGW staff said details on final structure, series and rates would be resolved in subsequent documents after rating‑agency review and market pricing.
