Memphis MLGW Setup and Transfer Decoder: starting, stopping and transferring power, water and gas on a rental

If you own or manage a Memphis rental, you deal with one utility for almost everything: MLGW. Memphis Light, Gas and Water is the municipal provider for electricity, natural gas, and water across Memphis and Shelby County, which is unusual, because most cities split those across two or three companies. That makes setup simpler, but it also means one missed step can leave a unit dark, cold, and dry at once. Here is how starting, stopping, and transferring service works on a rental, and the one setup that saves landlords the most trouble.

The three services, one account

MLGW bills electricity, gas, and water together on a single account tied to the service address. When a tenant moves in, service goes in their name; when they move out, it comes back off. The account follows the person, not the property, which is exactly why the in-between moment is where landlords get burned.

The move-in: the tenant opens the account

A new resident starts service in their own name, online, by phone, or in person, usually with a few days of lead time. New residential customers may owe a deposit unless it is waived, and amounts change, so have your resident confirm the current deposit and any connection fee directly with MLGW. Build the MLGW step into your lease and your move-in and application process so nobody shows up to a unit with no power on day one.

The move-out: where the gap opens

When a tenant closes their account, service does not automatically stay on for you. If nothing is in place, the unit can be disconnected the day they leave, and getting it turned back on for a showing or a turn can cost you days. That gap is the most common utility mistake on a Memphis rental.

The fix: a landlord continuous-service agreement

MLGW lets owners set up a landlord agreement so that when a tenant disconnects, service reverts automatically to your name instead of shutting off. You pay the base charge and any usage while the unit is vacant, but the power, gas, and water stay on, so the home stays showable, the crew can work, and you are not waiting on a reconnect the week you are trying to lease. Coordinating this is part of what we handle under long-term property management. Confirm the current enrollment steps and terms with MLGW directly.

Transfers between your own units

If you are moving service between properties you own, or from a tenant back to yourself, it is a transfer on the existing account rather than a brand-new setup, which is usually faster. Keep your account details and the service addresses handy.

A few Memphis-specific gotchas

• Winter gas. Memphis runs on natural-gas heat, and a vacant unit with the gas off can mean frozen or burst pipes in a cold snap. If you hold a vacancy through winter, keep service on and the heat set low.
• Water and hidden leaks. Because water is on the same bill, a running toilet or a slab leak shows up as a spike, so a sudden jump on a vacant unit is worth a same-day look from your maintenance team.
• Deposits and refunds. Deposit amounts and refund timing change, so treat any figure you read online as a starting point and confirm the current numbers with MLGW.

The bottom line

MLGW makes Memphis simple: one utility, one bill, three services. The only real trap is the vacancy gap between tenants, and the landlord continuous-service agreement closes it. For how the rest of the who-handles-what map works in Memphis, our code-enforcement decoder is a good companion. Set the MLGW agreement up once, as of 2026, and your turns get faster and your winters get safer.

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