SACE Applauds MLGW And Memphis City Council For Power Supply Exploration

Officials advance Memphians’ interests in approving power supply RFP contract

April 7, 2021
Contact: Amy Rawe, 865-235-1448, amyr@cleanenergy.org

Memphis, Tenn. – The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) applauds the Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) Board and the Memphis City Council for approving the contract to initiate the power supply request for proposals (RFP).

The contract will authorize the gathering of bids on power supply options for Memphis, including power purchases, transmission services, and self-generation. Expert analysis has shown these bids will likely give Memphis the option of choosing a new, highly reliable supply of energy that would save hundreds of millions of dollars annually, facilitate the local investment of billions of dollars, and move Memphis away from costly fossil fuels and toward affordable clean energy.

By voting to issue the RFP, the MLGW Board and Memphis City Council are not committing the city to any particular path nor to leaving MLGW’s current supplier, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Rather, the MLGW Board and Memphis City Council are exercising their due diligence to gather the necessary information through the RFP process in order to negotiate and leverage the best deal possible for Memphians.

In an op-ed, “Nothing to Lose, everything to gain: Memphians will only benefit From MLGW’s request for proposals,” Pearl Eva Walker, with SACE’s Memphis Has the Power campaign and Dr. Stephen A. Smith, Executive Director of SACE said, “With the information gained from a request for proposal, Memphis could control its own destiny specific to utility costs and become one of the cleanest, greenest cities in the country.”

SACE applauds and thanks the MLGW Board and Memphis City Council for acting to ensure the right information is on the table to make decisions that stand to greatly benefit Memphians for generations to come.

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About the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Since 1985, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy has worked to promote responsible and equitable energy choices to ensure clean, safe, and healthy communities throughout the Southeast. Learn more at www.cleanenergy.org.

About Memphis Has The Power
Memphis Has the Power is a campaign to ensure Memphians have affordable, equitable, and clean energy. We are working to achieve energy justice and create a cleaner, more prosperous Memphis. Learn more at www.memphishasthepower.org.