Memphis Light, Gas and Water
Memphis and Shelby County. The largest three service municipal utility in the United States, and TVA’s single biggest customer.
- Type
- Municipal
- Accounts
- 440K
What they credit you
We confirm it for you
Not yet published hereMLGW is a municipal provider, so its terms are set by its own board rather than by any state rule. We have not yet read MLGW’s own tariff, and we will not print a number we have not verified. Your installer confirms the current terms in writing before you sign. If they will not, walk away.
Battery backup is mandatory
in MLGW territory.
MLGW has not published a one for one credit that we have been able to verify. Until it does, we assume exporting power to MLGW is worth well below what you pay to buy it back.
That does not make solar a bad idea in MLGW territory. It changes what you should build. When exports are worth a fraction of retail the credit stops being the return, and the job becomes using more of your own production inside the house, which usually means a larger array than a one for one utility would need.
Sizing is where that gets decided, so ask about it directly. Tennessee sets no statutory system size limit, because it has no net metering statute. Size is governed by TVA’s interconnection requirements and by your local power company’s own rules. MLGW sets its own limits. Ask MLGW what it allows before you accept that a bigger system is off the table.
A battery then does two separate jobs. It moves daytime production into the evening so you use it instead of selling it, and it keeps the house running when the grid goes down. That second job is not a bonus. Panels on their own shut off in an outage, by design, so a roof full of them powers nothing during a storm. That is the part we will not refer around.
So we treat it as a requirement, not an upgrade. We will not refer you for a panels-only system in MLGW territory, and you should be skeptical of anyone who quotes you one without raising storage first.
Our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement
What your installer should be telling you
Ask MLGW in writing what it pays for exported energy and under which schedule.
Applying to MLGW
What MLGW itself requires, as distinct from what the state rule requires. Read from its own published guidelines on the date shown.
- There is no net metering to sign up for
- Tennessee has no net metering statute, and TVA does not offer net metering in its service area. Any quote that promises Tennessee net metering is describing something that does not exist here.
- What TVA actually pays, and it is wholesale
- TVA’s Dispersed Power Production schedule is the compensation route. Under the September 2025 schedule it paid $36.35 per MWh, which is 3.635 cents per kWh, in the first flat 7x24 tier. That is a wholesale price, not a retail credit.
- Your local power company is the whole question
- Around 150 local power companies resell TVA power across the state. Each one sets its own interconnection terms and decides what, if anything, it adds. Two neighbouring towns can give completely different answers.
- You need an interconnection agreement either way
- Every Tennessee installation requires an interconnection agreement with the local power company, whether or not you are paid anything for exports.
- Green Connect is a contractor programme, not a rate
- TVA’s Green Connect connects homeowners with installers meeting its Quality Contractor Network standards. It is a vetting scheme. It does not pay you for power and it is not net metering.
- Self consumption is the entire return here
- Where an exported kilowatt hour earns a wholesale price or nothing at all, the value of a system is what you use inside the house. That makes storage and load shifting central rather than optional.
From MLGW’s published guidelines · checked 2026-09-05 · source
MLGW net metering questions
- Does MLGW offer one for one net metering?
- We have not been able to verify a published one for one credit from MLGW. As a municipal provider it is not bound by whatever state rule covers the investor owned utilities, so it sets its own terms. Ask MLGW for the current export rate in writing before you sign anything.
- What does MLGW pay for power sent back to the grid?
- MLGW has not published a figure we can verify, so we do not print one. Your installer must confirm the current rate against MLGW’s own tariff before you commit.
- Do I need a battery with MLGW?
- Yes, and we treat it as mandatory. Because MLGW does not credit exports one for one, the return has to come from using your own production rather than selling it, which after dark means storage and usually a larger array than a one for one utility would need. The other half is backup: panels alone shut off in an outage, so a battery is what keeps the house running in a storm. We do not refer panels-only systems in MLGW territory. This is our referral policy, not a legal or utility requirement.
- How do I find my MLGW bill?
- Sign in at mlgw.com. Open My Account, then Billing. Open the latest bill and save the PDF. Or screenshot the summary page. If you cannot get to it, a rough guess at your average monthly amount is enough to start.
- What is the catch with MLGW?
- Ask MLGW in writing what it pays for exported energy and under which schedule.
Installers serving MLGW customers
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No installers listed for MLGW yet
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