NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Two Metro council members filed a resolution calling for the CEO of the Nashville Electric Service to be fired after the utility's response to the winter storm.
Some customers were without power for nearly two weeks.
Liberal leaning Emily Benedict, who represents the Madison area and conservative leaning Courtney Johnston, who represents Crieve Hall, filed the resolution urging the NES board to fire the CEO, Teresa Broyles-Aplin.
The five-member board is the only entity that can fire the CEO.
"We absolutely are on the opposite sides of a lot of issues, but on this one it's about good governance," Emily Benedict said.
"When you are leading an organization that provides an essential utility and people don't trust your leadership, that to me is a full stop. And I think it's time to move on from that," Courtney Johnston said.
The council members said they decided to file the resolution after seeing NES's response after the storm - including hiring lobbyists and PR firms to help with damage control.
"What I'm seeing and what I'm hearing is they are hiring multiple different lobbyists to come in and circle the wagons to lobby the state and this body (the Metro Council).
Calls from the council members follow calls from republican state lawmakers last week who said if there are not changes at NES the state might intervene.
"The longer that we get away from the storm and no change is taking place at NES, I think there is more opportunity for the state to jump in and say Nashville if you don't act, we are going to," Benedict said.
But some lineman - and the union that represents NES workers - have said they don't want Broyles-Aplin to be fired.
I don't see how you start over with someone else, because it's a whole new learning curve for that one individual," lineman Doug Roberts said.
On Inside Politics the council members were asked, "Is it scapegoating the CEO because of what was essentially bad weather?"
Johnston responded, "No. Your job is to be prepared and to be able to provide reliable power and to be able to restore power in a reasonable time frame."
The two council members cited an internal NES audit first reported by NewsChannel 5 Investigates that warned "inadequate vegetation management and maintenance." ... could "increase the frequency and duration of outages."
Records show NES spent nearly $7 million less on tree trimming from fiscal year 2023 to 2025.
But both said they were most upset with NES's communication.
Leadership repeatedly failed to tell people how long power would be out.
NewsChannel 5's Ben Hall asked, "Do you think they didn't know or do you think they were obscuring or hiding what they did know?"
Emily Benedict responded, "I think it was obtuse, that they hadn't prepared and improved those (communications) systems."
It will take 21 votes to pass - they plan a roll call vote.
If it passes, it does not mean the CEO is fired.
This is a nonbinding resolution.
It's up to the 5 member NES board to actually fire the CEO.
You can see the entire interview on Inside Politics which airs at 7pm Friday evening on NewsChannel 5 Plus. It also airs throughout the weekend.
Inside Politics is also available as a podcast, just enter Inside Politics Nashville and start listening.
