NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville Electric Service has released new restoration estimates, projecting 85% of customers will have power by February 1, but frustrated homeowners say they remain skeptical about getting reconnected quickly.
NES announced Saturday that 90% of customers should have power restored by February 3, with 99% restored by February 8. The utility also launched a new web-based tool called "My Outage Tracker" to provide individual household information about outage status.
However, in neighborhoods where power has been restored to some homes, residents say they are still waiting in the cold. They fear their smaller repairs are falling further down the priority list compared to bigger projects.
New tools provide information but not hope
The frustration has reached a breaking point, with some homeowners resorting to signs begging for help and flagging down bucket trucks for assistance, despite the new NES tracker and timeline.
"We understand the overwhelming challenges our customers are facing without knowing when their power will be restored after this unprecedented weather event," said NES CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplin. "We hope that by sharing a targeted timeline and up-to-date estimates for power restoration by zip code, customers can plan for alternate accommodations while NES crews continue to repair the system."
As of Saturday afternoon, approximately 50,000 customers remain without power out of the more than 230,000 who lost service during the ice storm.
Neighbors have power, but some still wait
Kymberly Whitaker's neighbors on Woodmont have power and warmth, while she remains in the dark despite text messages indicating her power should be restored.
"We just need someone to reconnect the cord," Whitaker said. "Friday morning woke up to a text message saying your power has been restored came back home. Our power had not been restored."
Whitaker said she has spent hours trying to reach NES customer service for answers.
"I've sat on hold for two hours just to get through to anyone any customer service representative," Whitaker said. "And they can't tell me anything other than the request has been submitted and they can't give me an ETA."
Homeowners complete repairs, wait for NES connection
Whitaker said her family has completed the repairs NES told them to do on their house. Now they need the utility to connect them to a working powerline.
"This is where the tree fell on our powerline. My husband chain sawed it up," Whitaker said.
She pointed to the simple connection needed to restore power to her home.
"These right here just have to go right there and that needs to get turned on and then we can have power again," Whitaker said. "A little frustrating. I don't understand why NES can't get it together to be honest with you."
City councilman demands accountability
Councilman Jacob Kupin has written a letter to NES demanding answers and accountability, saying Nashville is out of patience with the utility company.
"I've been saying if on day one they had said this is a seven to 10-day event, expect to be without power for at least a week, people would have planned and planned for that and made arrangements for that," Kupin said.
Kupin said residents understand the complexity of power restoration but want realistic expectations.
"We understand that you can't predict that your power is going to go on at 2:30, 7:00 p.m. and that it takes time to restore a historic number of poles that are down and historic damage," Kupin said. "But at the same time, you can still set an expectation for people."
NES provides new tracking tools
NES has developed the My Outage Tracker tool that allows residential customers to check their individual household status by entering their address at NESpower.com. The system shows if power is on or off and whether a crew is currently assigned.
The utility is also posting estimated restoration ranges based on zip codes twice daily on its website. Commercial customers can check restoration status by calling 615-736-6900.
"Our team has worked around the clock to accurately assess the scale of the massive ice storm's impact on our grid, which has been a street-by-street review based on the unprecedented damage to poles, lines and transformers," Broyles-Aplin said.
Calls for honesty about preparedness
Kupin said NES needs to acknowledge their lack of preparation for the storm.
"What we need to hear from them is hey we were not prepared for this," Kupin said. "It's clear they were not prepared for the storm and the pivoting and the excuses are not helping people."
For homeowners like Whitaker, the uncertainty makes it impossible to make alternative plans.
"We could go somewhere and make plans if we knew how long we were going to be without power," Whitaker said. "But the problem is every day we're sticking close by and staying close because today may be the day NES comes and turns our power back on."
Over 1,100 lineworkers continue working in the field to restore service. Kupin said the number of downed poles has now exceeded 500 across the Nashville area.
If you have a story idea or tip about power restoration efforts, email me at Amanda.Roberts@NewsChannel5.com
This story was reported on-air by Amanda Roberts and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
