Nashville’s Dem Mayor Slams Electric Service He Just Praised As City Hits 9 Days Without Power

Nashville Democratic Mayor Freddie O’Connell blasted the city’s electric service over the weekend just days after praising its efforts to restore power to residents left in the cold.

O’Connell said that he met with Nashville Electric Service (NES) leaders on Sunday and told them that the agency’s response and messaging around widespread power outages has been “unacceptable.” Tens of thousands of Nashville residents have gone nine days without power following a massive ice storm that ripped down trees and power lines across the city. At least four deaths have been linked to the storm and ensuing power outage in Nashville.

“What I learned today is that NES is unequipped to communicate about a crisis,” O’Connell said after the meeting. “Nashvillians can’t get the last week back—nights huddled under blankets, unplanned shelter or hotel stays, the uncertainty and fear of not knowing what’s happening and how long it will take to simply return home. And that’s why it’s so troubling that details NES leadership shared about their internal outlook—that they hadn’t previously shared with us—would’ve had a huge impact on the public guidance we gave from the beginning of the crisis. That is unacceptable.”

The mayor’s statement following the meeting marked a change in tune from when O’Connell defended the Nashville Electric Service last week as residents grew frustrated with the agency’s response.

“Let’s be clear about what this is — it is a historic ice storm. This is the largest single outage in NES history. We do not have these kinds of weather events all the time,” O’Connell said at a press conference last Tuesday.

On Thursday, O’Connell suggested that the Nashville Electric Service’s response was a “success.”

“The fact that this is their largest ever number of line crews out with line workers and vegetation support ever, I think that’s a sign of their success,” he said, according to Fox 17 Nashville. Later during Thursday’s briefing, O’Connell said he was “not satisfied” with the power restoration efforts.

The Nashville Electric Service is led by a CEO, but it also has a five-member board that is appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council. Two of the current NES board members have been appointed by O’Connell. The Daily Wire reached out to the mayor’s office and asked if O’Connell met with NES leaders before the storm hit on January 24 to discuss the city’s response.

The Nashville Electric Service has faced increased criticism as over 20,000 homes and businesses remain without power in the Music City on Monday. The agency deployed only 200 linemen at the beginning of the storm to repair downed lines, far below the total number of linemen that would eventually be needed. NES officials said over 1,000 linemen are now working on restoring power in the city.

“Progress has been made with power restored to 80% of our customers who had outages,” NES CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplin said on Saturday. “By Tuesday, 90% will be restored, and by Sunday, February 8, 99% of our customers will have power back.”

She added that extensive damage in some areas means it will take the electric service more time to get power restored.

Broyles-Aplin’s past comments on tree maintenance have also come under scrutiny. Last August, the NES leader stressed the importance of saving Nashville’s tree “canopy” and avoiding aggressive trimming practices. Some Nashville tree service professionals argued that the Nashville Electric Service doesn’t do enough to keep trees away from power lines.

Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn also ripped the electric service for spending time focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“The Nashville Electric Service held 102 DEI-related training sessions by the end of 2024. They should’ve been using those resources to trim trees and bury utilities. This is what happens when companies put woke politics over the needs of the people they serve,” Blackburn said on Sunday.

Last week, the Tennessee Star highlighted a 2024 NES “community investment” report, which stated, “To foster a culture of civility and belonging within our organization with the hopes of extending that dynamic beyond our walls, NES’ Human Relations Department implemented Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, & Belonging (DEIAB) trainings, hosting a total of 102 sessions in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024 for both organization-wide education and nuanced resources for leadership positions.”

Blackburn argued that while linemen are working hard to restore power to Nashville residents, leaders are botching the response.

“The linemen who are on the ground making repairs and working in the frigid temperatures to restore power are the unsung heroes of the response to this horrible winter storm,” Blackburn said. “So grateful for these men and women.”