On the sixth straight day of widespread power outages across Music City, more than 73,000 Nashville Electric Service (NES) customers entered Friday without electricity, as the National Weather Service warns of “dangerous cold temperatures” through the weekend.
At 8:00 a.m. on Friday, NES’ website reported 72,539 of its customers were affected by outages – about 15 percent of its approximately 470,000 customers across Davidson County. By 9:00 a.m., the outages increased to 73,208 customers affected.
In an update Thursday, NES CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplin described the outages as “a significant hardship,” however, said “many” NES customers can expect the company to not have power restored “through the weekend or longer.”
“We still have many days ahead before power is restored to every Nashville household,” Broyles-Aplin said.
The prolonged outages come as the National Weather Service warns that dangerously cold temperatures will persist from Friday through the weekend, bringing an estimated 60 to 70 consecutive hours of below-freezing conditions.
Overnight temperatures are expected to drop into the single digits, with wind chills falling below zero.
Weather officials cautioned that the extreme cold could be “life-threatening,” particularly for residents without electricity or adequate heat.
Reporting by The Tennessee Star into NES amid the outages has shed light on the utility’s leadership priorities under CEO Broyles-Aplin.
On Thursday, The Star reported that the municipally-owned utility conducted more than 100 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) training sessions as part of its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) agenda between 2023 and early 2024, while simultaneously emphasizing workforce culture initiatives such as “belonging” and employee engagement.
The Star also reported that the utility moved to extend a contract for “Consulting for DEI Projects and Initiatives” even as tens of thousands of customers remained without power, with board meeting documents showing NES recommended and approved this week a six-month contract extension for DEI consultant Tony Williams, who also appears to work full-time as a Field Superintendent for the utility.
Further, The Star highlighted Broyles-Aplin’s previously stated approach to tree trimming, where she publicly emphasized preserving Nashville’s urban tree canopy through restrained, species-specific trimming rather than aggressive removal.
Meanwhile, Middle Tennessee Electric, which serves approximately 359,000 customers across Rutherford, Williamson, and Wilson counties, reported just six of its customers were affected by outages entering Friday morning.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Nashville Electric Service Workers” by Nashville Electric Service.
