Richard Massey
ON THE RECORD · 6 verbatim quotes · every quote source-verified
“being able to step in and fill in the gaps”
Richard Massey · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-05
Massey said he is proud of the community for stepping in to fill gaps left by the power outage crisis.
“These AI datacenters are significant consumers of power. They demand significant amounts of electricity; they strain power grids, and they make power grids more susceptible to failure during periods of inclement weather,”
Richard Massey · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-05
Massey explained that AI datacenters consume significant power and strain power grids, making them more susceptible to failure during inclement weather.
“Regular people pitched in, donated resources, pooled resources and prepared hot meals for the community for free. In addition to that, we also had two networks of generators flowing into the city from Mississippi and from Nashville, and we were able to reach capacity. It’s been an intensive, week-long effort across the board in every corner of Memphis.”
Richard Massey · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-05
Massey described how regular people and networks from Mississippi and Nashville contributed hot meals and generators across Memphis.
“I don’t think that there’s been a greater testament to the character of Memphis and Memphians than what we’ve seen,”
Richard Massey · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-05
Massey praised the character of Memphis and Memphians in their community response to the power outage.
“it’s a sobering reminder that we have a lot of work to do to build out a more sustainable, resilient grid that’s able to endure periods of inclement weather like this.”
Richard Massey · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-05
Massey said the crisis is a sobering reminder of the work needed to build a more sustainable, resilient power grid.
“That’s not to say that they were the prevailing cause. That wasn’t the case. But the fact that our public utility has prioritized these massive allotments of power and [accommodated] corporate expansion over the maintenance of the power grid that residents rely on speaks to a deeply structural issue. They are prioritizing the interests of corporations over people.”
Richard Massey · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-05
Massey argued that the public utility prioritizing corporate expansion over grid maintenance reflects a structural issue favoring corporations over people.