As state and local officials seek answers over the company’s response to Winter Storm Fern, Mayor Jason Cole of La Vergne told The Tennessee Star on Thursday that his community sent a letter requesting representation on the Nashville Electric Service (NES) utility board, or else for consent to make Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE) La Vergne’s electricity provider.
Cole told The Star that he and State Representatives Mike Sparks (R-Smyrna) and Robert Stevens (R-Smyrna) sent a letter to NES on Monday, but that neither the company, nor CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplin, have confirmed receiving the request.
“They didn’t acknowledge it. In fact, the only times that the NES CEO has reached out to me have either been um before or after hours. You’re looking at like 7:15 in the morning or 8 o’clock at night,” said Cole, adding that he has a family.
The mayor reported similar challenges contacting Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, his colleague to the northwest, whose office appoints NES board members in accordance with the municipally owned utility’s charter.
“You can try to get a hold of Mayor O’Connell’s office,” he told The Star. “I’ve just never gotten through, past any of the gatekeepers as they say.”
O’Connell recently announced a commission to study the NES storm response, though its findings may not be public until February 2027.
Cole (pictured above) said he did not expect the commission to examine the company’s response in La Vergne, or for any of its customers outside Davidson County, despite about 20 percent of the 470,000 NES customers living outside the city.
“I don’t even expect them to even look at anything outside of Nashville,” said Cole. “I mean, we’ve we’ve still got some lines that came down during the storm and haven’t been put back up.”
He explained, “They’ve just either been disconnected from being live lines and left to the side, or there was a work around, and you know, there’s no electricity to it, but it’s not been hooked back up.”
Asked whether he has observed any issues with NES tree trimming or vegetation management in recent years, as the company has contradicted its annual report showing a $7 million cut to its spending in 2024, Cole described an observable difference in the part of La Vergne which receives electricity from NES compared to MTE.
“Our city is divided almost at the interstate [between] two different electrical companies, on the south side of town as we call it, which has Middle Tennessee Electric,” said the mayor. Of the south side of town, Cole reported, “We had a handful of tree limbs go down. Not a single one took out a line. They all landed just in the road, which the city quickly took care of.”
He told The Star, “On the NES side of town, we had both transformers blowing fuses and tree limbs taking out lines left and right.”
Of La Vergne’s prior experience with NES, he added, “We jokingly say in our community if you sneeze too hard, it will take out the power for Lake Forest, which Lake Forest, if you’re not aware, is the largest subdivision in the state of Tennessee. It’s the third largest in the country, and power goes out there on a regular basis.”
The mayor also told The Star he was not reassured by the Metro Nashville Council resolution calling on NES to fire Broyles-Aplin, which will see a vote next week.
“Whether she’s in the position she’s in or not, I will not stop advocating that our residents absolutely need a say in how NES is operating,” said Cole. Otherwise, “they need to release us to Middle Tennessee Electric, where we already have that voice.”
He also questioned NES’ recent decision to hire Mark Cate, who served as chief of staff for former Governor Bill Haslam, to lobby Tennessee’s state government.
Cole said he was not only troubled the company was potentially “lobbying against our interests,” but said, “It’s concerning to me that they would rather spend money on lobbyists rather than have sit down conversations with the elected officials and municipalities that are involved in this.”
He told The Star, “Rather than have those conversations, and talk about what they can do, and what they want to do, and how we can partner together to help all of our residents and their customers, they’re going to spend large amounts of money on lobbying efforts for uh for legislation to benefit them. That’s a disconnect to me.”
The mayor said he has contacted the office of State House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), who stated last week that lawmakers were considering their options regarding NES.
Cole also said he intends to send a second letter to NES, inviting Broyles-Aplin to attend La Vergne’s upcoming board meeting on March 3.
La Vergne’s effort comes as the Sumner County Commission took a step earlier this week toward passing a resolution to seek representation on the NES board and to explore a possible switch to other utility companies.
U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05), whose district includes part of Nashville and much of the surrounding area, called for the Tennessee General Assembly to take control of the company, dissolve its board, and create a new governance that includes representation for customers outside the city.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Jason Cole” by Jason Cole.
