Bartlett, Tennessee Power Outage Today

How reliable is Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) service in Bartlett?

Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) is a city-owned utility with 427,658 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 1.95 interruptions and 327 minutes (about 5.5 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 2.8 hours.

Little of that came from major storms (about 14%). Without major event days the average is still 281 minutes, so the figure mostly reflects everyday faults: failed equipment, tree limbs, animals and vehicles hitting poles.

The typical outage was repaired in about 2.8 hours.

For comparison, Tennessee as a whole averaged 279 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) above the state average.

Among the 52 utilities in Tennessee with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) ranks 32nd for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 32% of the 926 utilities of that size reported more outage minutes in 2024.

These are the figures the utility itself reported to the US Energy Information Administration (Form EIA-861, 2024) and describe the whole service territory, not one street. Your own address can be better or worse.

Storm season and outages in Bartlett

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 379 storm reports for Shelby County from 2015 through 2026, most often thunderstorm wind (198), flash flood (91), hail (71), and flood (8). The busiest full year was 2023 with 80 reports and the quietest was 2022 with 15, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in June (74 since 2015), followed by July and April. October is outside those three months, so an outage now is less likely to be weather-related.

NOAA’s own narratives name power outages in 13 storm episodes in Shelby County since 2015, most often in February. That count is a floor, since the database records outages only when a spotter or agency mentions them.

What the most common storm types in Bartlett do to the grid:

• Thunderstorm wind. Straight-line wind pushes trees and limbs into distribution lines. These outages are usually local, a street or a neighborhood at a time, and crews clear them circuit by circuit.
• Hail. Hail rarely cuts power by itself, but it often arrives with the wind and lightning that do, and it breaks solar panels, windshields and exposed utility equipment.
• Flash flood. Floodwater reaches ground-level transformers, meters and low-lying substations. Utilities may shut power off ahead of the water on purpose, and wading near flooded equipment can electrocute.

Storm reports that name Bartlett

Within Shelby County, 24 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Bartlett as their location or in their description: thunderstorm wind (14), hail (7), and flash flood (3). That is about 6% of the county’s reports, so most of the county’s weather history happened elsewhere. Reports naming Bartlett are most common in April. The busiest full year was 2017 with 7.

In NOAA’s own words, storms that left Bartlett without power:

• May 22, 2020 (thunderstorm wind): “Trees and power lines were knocked down on Shadowlawn Road in Bartlett near the Bartlett Freshman Academy.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• April 28, 2020 (thunderstorm wind): “Power lines down near WJ Freeman Park and Stage Road in Bartlett.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database
• August 5, 2015 (thunderstorm wind): “Power lines were also knocked down near Crestview Drive at Bartlett Road.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Bartlett

57.1% of occupied homes in Bartlett are heated with piped natural gas, and 41.8% with electricity (US 41.3% electric). A gas furnace still needs electricity for its blower and ignition, so a long winter outage leaves these homes cold too, though a gas supply stays on when the grid fails. Never heat a home with an oven, grill or camp stove indoors.

Residents aged 65 or older are 18.3% of the population in Bartlett, close to the US share of 17.2% and 14% report a disability (US 13.3%). These are the households most likely to depend on powered medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators, CPAP machines and refrigerated medicine. If someone in your home does, ask Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 8.7% of the housing in Bartlett was built before 1970 (US 35.5%), so most homes are newer and more of the local lines are likely to be buried or recently replaced.

Median household income in Bartlett is $102,070, above the Tennessee figure of $69,595, and home generators and batteries are correspondingly more common. If a neighbor runs one, keep the exhaust away from every window and door, including yours.

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 (housing, heating fuel, age and disability tables).

Backup power and electricity use in Bartlett

The average Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) home used about 1,139 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 1.6 kW around the clock, and paid about 12.2 cents per kWh (12.4 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $138 a month.

Keeping only the essentials on (a refrigerator, router, a few lights and phone chargers, about 400 watts) through an outage that lasts the average about 2.8 hours takes about 1.1 kWh. A portable power station or a power bank covers that; a generator is more than most households here need for a typical outage.

A generator must never run indoors, in a garage or near a window; generator and food-safety rules are in the power outage guide linked below.

If the power is out in Bartlett

About 59,227 people live in Bartlett, the 10th largest of the 10 Tennessee cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW)’s outage map for an estimate. If neighbors have power and you do not, report it again: the fault may be on the line to your house alone, which is a separate repair.

Bartlett power outage map

Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW)’s outage map has the official restoration estimate for your address; the count above comes from residents. Food and generator safety: power outage guide.

Bartlett power outage questions