A Monday morning fire at an MLGW substation in Arlington disrupted power to between 19,000 and 22,000 MLGW accounts for several hours. On Tuesday, MLGW reported that around-the-clock repair work has begun, and the repair process could continue for up to six months.
On Wednesday, MLGW issued a request for all Lakeland and Arlington to limit their electricity usage during peak hours while repairs are made to the Arlington facility; if not enough people comply, there will be mandatory rolling blackouts for customers served by the substation.
On the morning of the fire, Shelby County firefighters quenched the blaze after about two hours of work. The fire erupted Monday at the substation on U.S. 70. Residents said they heard humming wires and a large explosion at the time of the fire, and some also reported seeing an alarming fireball.
Power was restored to residents within two to three hours, an MLGW spokesman said.
On Tuesday, an MLGW spokesman said the fire was still under investigation. The power company has not yet released information on the possible cause of the fire or the extent of the damages.
The power outage that resulted at Arlington substation 68 also affected the Lakeland substation 85 on U.S. 64. The Lakeland facility went out of service as a way to curtail the damages arising from the fire in Arlington, according to an MLGW spokesman.
During the repair stage for the Arlington substation, customers experiencing low voltage issues related to this incident should contact:
- Customer Care Center for Residential Customers at (901) 544-6549
- Business Solutions Center for Commercial and Industrial Customers at (901) 528-4270
