Nashville Faces Costliest Storm Recovery in History

NES outlines plans to improve emergency response after ice storm caused up to $140 million in damages

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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Nashville Electric Service (NES) officials outlined plans to enhance storm response after a recent ice storm caused an estimated $110 million to $140 million in damages and left thousands without power for over a week. NES faced challenges with hazardous energy control training and coordinating restoration crews, leading to slow recovery times that frustrated city leaders and residents.

Why it matters

This storm represents the most expensive recovery effort in Nashville's history, highlighting the need for NES to improve its emergency planning and communication with the public. The slow response also raised concerns about the city's overall preparedness for major weather events.

The details

NES President and CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplin said the initial problem was a lack of hazardous energy control training, which limited the number of crews that could help with restoration. NES had to expedite training to increase the number of teams. Moving forward, NES plans to enhance emergency management leadership, improve outage information, refine restoration time communication, and evaluate vegetation management and underground power lines.

  • The ice storm occurred 19 days ago, on January 2026.
  • NES will review the changes with the Metro Council again in March ahead of the spring storm season.

The players

Nashville Electric Service (NES)

The public electric utility company that provides power to Nashville and surrounding areas.

Teresa Broyles-Aplin

The President and CEO of Nashville Electric Service.

Jacob Kupin

A Metro Council member who questioned NES representatives about the slow recovery time.

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What they’re saying

“We reached out multiple times to NES to find out which of our constituents are out of power. I and others were ready to knock on doors and talk to people we just needed to know who we need to talk to, and NES could not get us that.”

— Jacob Kupin, Metro Council member (wsmv.com)

“We are committed to learning from this storm.”

— Teresa Broyles-Aplin, President and CEO, Nashville Electric Service (wsmv.com)

What’s next

NES plans to review the changes with the Metro Council again in March ahead of the spring storm season.

The takeaway

This storm highlights the need for NES to improve its emergency planning and communication with the public to better prepare for and respond to major weather events. The utility's commitment to learning from this experience and implementing changes is crucial to preventing similar issues in the future.