A Nashville Electric Service (NES) executive confirmed on Tuesday that the municipally owned utility company did not perform extra tree trimming or vegetation management before Winter Storm Fern during a nearly four-hour meeting with the Metro Nashville Council.
The confirmation came from NES COO Brent Baker, who told the council, “We did not do specific actions through leading up to the storm.” While he stated it was not a common practice in the industry, Baker told the council, “I think, absolutely, as we learn from this… you will see us make those in the future.”
Baker also confirmed that linemen were left waiting for tree trimmers to clear downed branches and trees during the recent outage, which at its height saw about 230,000 customers left in the dark.
“We want to add more in the next events,” said Baker. “We will definitely look to increasing those staffs.”
Baker’s acknowledgments come as NES continues to contradict its 2024 annual report, which shows the utility slashed its tree trimming and vegetation management expenses by $7 million, yet claims its budget for trimming and vegetation increased.
U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) cited reporting by The Tennessee Star on the company’s 2024 report in a floor speech last week, which also referenced the August 2025 remarks by CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplin, who explained that NES prioritizes Nashville’s “tree canopy” during trimming.
“I don’t want us out destroying the canopy,” said Broyles-Aplin during a television program hosted by an NES board member. “We do species specific trimming… We take a lot of pride in making sure that we are cutting the trees in a healthy fashion.”
Blackburn has since called for Broyles-Aplin to resign.
In her own remarks to Metro Council on Tuesday, Broyles-Aplin acknowledged the company’s communication failures during the storm.
“We recognize the hardship that winter storm Fern placed on our customers as well as areas where we failed to help customers make informed decisions about the timeline for restoration,” said Broyles-Aplin.
She added, “I’m clear that we did not meet the expectations of our customers, particularly with how we communicated critical information.”
NES confirmed to The Star on Monday that it received pro bono services from a New York-based public relations firm during the response to Winter Storm Fern, but did not dispute its contract with the company that is reportedly worth up to $10 million.
Watch the full Metro Nashville Council meeting:
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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 “Nashville Electric Service Workers” by Nashville Electric Service.
