NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Thousands of Nashville residents remain without power and displaced from their homes following an icy winter storm, with many questioning why Nashville Electric Service didn't bring in more crews from other states sooner as ice crippled the electrical grid.
Days after an icy winter storm swept through the area, families are still living in cold homes with few options for relief. The storm has left residents like Dymetra Bass demanding accountability from utility leaders.
"Why wasn't anybody contracted in, you know, from other states?" Bass said.
The mounting frustration has led to political pressure, with state lawmakers openly calling for NES CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplin and her team to step down. However, during a press conference to provide updates on restoration efforts, Broyles-Aplin said the focus remains on restoration rather than resignation.
"As you know, Winter Storm Fern created significant hardships for the Nashville community, and those without power are still our top priority," Broyles-Aplin said.
The utility reports major progress, restoring power to 96% of customers with the most line workers in NES history now deployed. According to Broyles-Aplin, the storm will be remembered as historic in terms of infrastructure damage.
"As far as power infrastructure damage, Winter Storm Fern will be one for the history books, the greatest damage to our system in the history of the organization," Broyles-Aplin said.
Critics question why more line crews weren't positioned earlier, given the days of advance ice storm warnings from meteorologists. When pressed about the preparation timeline during the press conference, Broyles-Aplin acknowledged the planning process.
"Adequate planning for any kind of storm is really important. With regard to this one, we were planning for, we certainly were planning for the predicted weather. As it migrated to being predicted as an ice storm, we were arranging for crews. And we were arranging for an adequate number of crews. We just did not necessarily have them on site," Broyles-Aplin said.
The CEO explained that forecast shifts delayed bringing crews on-site, but assured customers that NES is working "around the clock" to restore power to those still in the dark.
NES reports that 1,800 lineworkers have been deployed, with plans to increase that number to 1,840 lineworkers as restoration efforts continue.
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