MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Light, Gas and Water customers are a step closer to higher gas and water bills after the utility’s Board of Commissioners on Wednesday approved a 2027 budget built around rate increases, with data centers asked to pay the most.
Under the plan, homes would see a 12% increase, businesses and industrial users 20%, and data centers 30%. None of it can take effect without a vote by the Memphis City Council, which would set the new rates. Local groups including Protect Our Aquifer had pushed to keep home rates flat, but President and CEO Doug McGowen recommended phasing the increases in.
In a letter to customers, the utility said the average household would pay about $6 more a month for natural gas in 2027, climbing to roughly $18 more by 2029, while water would rise about $2.50 a month at first and about $10 by 2029. A discount for low water users would cap the three-year water increase at $3 for about 58,000 residential customers, mostly seniors and small households.
MLGW says the money will go toward replacing aging gas pipelines, upgrading water pumping stations and continuing to swap out lead service lines, and that none of it will be spent on data center projects. The utility notes it has not raised gas or water rates in five years and drained reserve funds to avoid increases over the past three years.
The vote comes as electric customers absorbed the last 4% of a 12% power increase in January, a change MLGW put at about $5 a month for the average customer to pay for grid upgrades.
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