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Municipal DepartmentDataset 2026.08
Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division (MLGW)
Memphis and Shelby County
Population reference
MLGW's official 2026 materials report 929,744 people in the Memphis/Shelby County service area and more than 257,000 water customers; the 2025 utility-use table reports 260,385 water accounts, including 234,342 residential accounts.
Billing detail
Broad public detail found
Official destination
Open provider website ↗Provider-specific findings
Billing and account research from public material
Provider-specific research notes are displayed separately from fields that contain only an unavailable-information marker. Read qualifiers in each note and verify current account terms with the provider.
- Billing frequency
- Monthly. MLGW describes a residential billing month as the period between regularly scheduled readings, normally not less than 25 days or more than 35 days, with twelve billing months each calendar year. The bill identifies the current and next meter-reading dates, due date, billing days, and whether the reading is estimated.
- Rate structure
- Uniform volumetric water pricing by 100 cubic feet (CCF, about 748 gallons), with separate W1 schedule for residential customers inside Memphis city limits and W2/W51 schedules for residential customers outside the city limits in Shelby County. MLGW's current residential-rate page lists the water schedules as effective January 4, 2022 and does not show increasing-block or seasonal water tiers. Its official 2026 utility comparison, based on rates effective January 2026, uses a 10-CCF Memphis residential water bill of $23.93; the January 2026 system rate-adjustment release says the final 4% installment was expected to add approximately $5 to the average combined residential utility bill.
- Residential cost reference
- For 5,000-7,000 gallons, usage is approximately 6.68-9.36 CCF. A practical 2026 water-only estimate is roughly $16-$24 per month before Tennessee water tax and any City of Memphis/Shelby County sewer, solid-waste, stormwater, or fire-protection line items; MLGW's official 2026 comparison uses $23.93 for 10 CCF. The total MLGW bill can be much higher because MLGW bills electric and gas together and collects charges imposed by other governmental entities.
- Wastewater and sewer calculation
- MLGW places City of Memphis and Shelby County sewer, solid-waste, stormwater, and related charges on the combined utility bill, but its current customer page expressly says those services are provided by the City or County rather than MLGW. City sewer rules use a monthly volumetric charge based on measured water consumption, with a minimum monthly charge and a residential maximum; the City code also describes the charge per 1,000 gallons/100 cubic feet. The reviewed MLGW materials do not publish a universal winter-average formula for residential sewer and do not make MLGW the sewer-rate authority. Customers disputing sewer charges should contact Memphis sewer service at 901-576-6757; a water-leak adjustment separately considers the actual sewer-use impact so water that did not enter the sewer can be treated differently.
- Meter reading
- MLGW reads nearly one million meters each month, including water meters, on a recurring field schedule. Meter readers use state-of-the-art handheld computers; readings are downloaded to MLGW's mainframe at the end of each day, and an error safeguard flags readings likely to create an unrealistic bill for re-read or verification. The exact current and next reading date appears in the blue-shaded column on the bill. If a meter is inaccessible because of a locked gate, pet, overgrowth, weather, or other obstruction, MLGW may estimate the bill from historical usage and reconcile it automatically after the next actual read. MLGW also offers smart-meter-dependent PowerPay and usage notifications, but the public FAQ describes the ordinary residential process as scheduled physical meter reading rather than universal hourly AMI transmission.
- New-account deposit
- A B-rated residential applicant who fails MLGW's credit assessment, has recent bankruptcy, delinquency, nonpayment disconnection, or prior diversion generally owes a $200 minimum deposit. The applicant may pay cash, cashier's check, or money order, have it billed on the next bill, or use eight $25 installments beginning with the first billed month; the remaining installment balance becomes due before reconnection after a nonpayment cutoff. A customer tied to diversion or qualifying written-off bad debt can owe a $400 deposit, with limited installment treatment for the bad-debt case. MLGW can reassess deposits after delinquent reconnects, adding $50 increments up to $400. Deposit waivers include adequate credit assessment, an acceptable utility letter of reference, qualifying senior/disability status, or 24 months of good MLGW history. A deposit is refunded or credited after 24 consecutive months only when the customer is A-rated, has no arrears, recent delinquent reconnect, active plan, qualifying returned payment, bad debt, bankruptcy, or diversion; MLGW does not pay deposit interest.
- Activation or transfer fee
- MLGW requires a customer to use its residential start, stop, or transfer service request and to complete the Residential Service Agreement with acceptable identification. The public current service page does not publish one universal residential activation or transfer dollar amount: a service charge may apply to ordinary connections and reconnections, while the initial turn-on of a new service is treated separately from a reconnection after nonpayment. Construction, meter, tampering, and meter-size charges are governed by the current Schedule of Charges. Customers should call 901-544-6549 before the move date to confirm the exact charge, deposit, identity documents, and whether the account transfer can be completed without an interruption.
Context, not a score
How documentation coverage compares
This profile
100%
overview fields with research notes
Tennessee
43%
records with any overview detail
National index
50%
records with any overview detail
Coverage measures what this directory documented. It does not measure service quality, affordability, or regulatory compliance.
Research record
Broad public detail found
7 of 7 fields in this section contain provider-specific public detail in dataset August 1, 2026.
Documented
100%
Primary verification routes
- Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division (MLGW) public website ↗
Provider-controlled destination used to confirm current customer instructions.
- EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System ↗
Federal background on public water-system records and their limitations.