Nashville Electric Service Struggles to Restore Power After Winter Storm

Tens of thousands remain without power as frustration grows over lack of restoration timelines and communication from utility.

Jan. 31, 2026 at 5:31am

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One week after Winter Storm Fern caused widespread power outages across Davidson County, Nashville Electric Service (NES) is still working to restore electricity to roughly 59,000 customers as of Friday, January 30th. NES has brought in over 1,100 linemen and 350 vegetation crews, as well as National Guard assistance, to prioritize large outage groups and critical facilities, but residents have voiced growing frustration over the lack of clear restoration timelines and communication from the utility.

Why it matters

The extended power outages have created significant hardship for many Nashville residents, with some struggling to stay warm in freezing temperatures and facing rising costs from having to find alternative accommodations. The situation has also raised questions about NES' preparedness and response to major weather events, as well as the need for better communication and transparency from the utility during crisis situations.

The details

NES announced the launch of a new outage map showing crew locations, and promised to unveil an address-level restoration estimate tool "very soon." However, the utility acknowledged that providing accurate restoration timelines has been "incredibly challenging" given the "magnitude of this storm and the level of damage." Broken power poles can take 8-10 hours to repair, and crews have had to temporarily shut off power in some areas as they reconnect customers, further slowing progress. NES has also faced setbacks as new limb breaks have re-damaged repaired lines.

  • On January 30th, roughly 59,000 NES customers remained without power.
  • Since the start of the storm, NES has made around 160,000 repairs.
  • Governor Bill Lee issued a statement on January 30th calling on NES to provide better power restoration timelines.

The players

Teresa Broyles-Aplin

President and CEO of Nashville Electric Service.

Brandon Whitlock

Operations manager for Nashville Electric Service.

Tonya Hancock

Metro Councilwoman in Nashville.

Terry Miles

A 59-year-old Nashville resident who has been without power since Monday and is heating his home with a fish fryer.

Cealia Guerrero

Member of the local activist group Nashville People Power.

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What they’re saying

“Tennesseans are facing an extremely challenging recovery process as a result of Winter Storm Fern, and they need a clear timeline for power restoration, transparency on the number of linemen deployed, and a better understanding when work will be completed in their neighborhood.”

— Bill Lee, Governor of Tennessee

“If I take 15 minutes to hook up each of the 200,000 customers we got, you can do the math on how long that will take. We had to rebuild the backbone of our system. As we progress, be patient with us.”

— Brandon Whitlock, Operations Manager, Nashville Electric Service

“This is the coldest and worst I've ever been in my damn life. I've done everything I could. I've got a fish frier in there and a big tank — I know it's probably not safe. But I run it for 30 minutes and leave it off for an hour. I'm taking a chance to kill myself and my wife to stay warm.”

— Terry Miles

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

This situation highlights the critical need for utilities like NES to have robust emergency preparedness and communication plans in place to effectively respond to and keep customers informed during major weather events. The extended outages and frustration from residents also raise broader questions about the resilience of Nashville's power grid and infrastructure.