NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — House Republicans are moving to reshape the Nashville Electric Service board of directors, giving surrounding counties new seats and more power over the utility following a devastating ice storm.
Tennessee Republican lawmakers aren't waiting on a city commission to act in the wake of Nashville Electric Service's response to a devastating ice storm. House Republicans are now showing their hand, pushing legislation that could fundamentally reshape who controls the NES board of directors.
The storm left 230,000 customers without power and heat at its peak. Since then, NES has faced pressure from leaders at both the state and local level. Mayor Freddie O'Connell appointed a Nashville commission that has held its first meeting, and NES has announced it is working to make changes ahead of future disasters. But state lawmakers appear to be moving on their own timeline.
State Rep. Clark Boyd (R-Lebanon) is sponsoring an amendment to House Bill 2418 that would expand the NES board of directors to include representation from counties outside Davidson County that are served by the municipal provider. "Every county that has ratepayers that buy electricity from NES, the county mayor of that county would get to appoint someone to the board of directors," Boyd said.
Boyd's amendment hasn't been officially filed yet.
Davidson County currently holds five seats on the NES board. Under the proposed bill, Cheatham, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson counties would each receive new board seats, with their county mayors making the appointments. That shift could give the six surrounding counties collective control of the board.
When I asked whether the state has the legal authority to make that change, Boyd acknowledged the question is still being worked through. "We're going through that legally, yes. We'll figure that out," Boyd said.
House Majority Leader Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, was quick to offer a legal rationale. "The statute that set up the board to begin is a state statute and that's what's being amended," Lamberth said.
A second bill, sponsored by State Rep. Kevin Vaughn (R-Collierville) would allow communities outside Davidson County to buy themselves out of NES, by purchasing and taking control of their utility infrastructure, and either start their own municipal electricity provider or join a neighboring utility. That amendment has not yet been filed, but Vaughn said the language could be published as early as next week.
"If one of these communities that's outside the corporate boundaries have the leverage of saying, if you don't give me better service, you will grow the political will of our people to want to have to do this," Vaughn said.
House Democrats say they are open to changes at NES, but are questioning whether the proposals actually address what went wrong during the ice storm. "What do those proposals do to fix anything that happened a couple of weeks ago that they're complaining about or reacting to?" said State Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville), who serves as House Democratic Caucus Chair.
Clemmons said Democrats want to see legislation that prevents the next disaster, not just legislation that responds to political pressure. "If they in fact address something that went wrong or fix something that caused them to have this appetite for NES legislation, that's worth a conversation, but we don't really know everything. They're still doing the debrief. They're still studying what they could have done better — beyond communications of course, which we all agree could have been done a lot better," Clemmons said.
Both bills, while directly crafted to impact NES, could be applied to other municipal electric utilities across Tennessee that have expanded beyond their city limits. Debate on both bills could begin as early as next week.
Mayor O'Connell's office deferred to the director of Metro Legal Wally Dietz for comment. A response is still pending.
NES offered this statement about the legislation:
"We are grateful for the partnership with elected officials in all aspects of storm response and recovery. We will thoughtfully review all legislative proposals and work together with elected officials to better serve our customers."
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
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