The Metro Nashville Council on Tuesday announced a one-meeting deferral for action on the bipartisan resolution calling for the Nashville Electric Service (NES) board to fire the company’s embattled CEO, Teresa Broyles-Aplin, who has faced sharp criticism following NES’ response to Winter Storm Fern.
Introduced last week by Metro Council Members Courtney Johnston (District 26) and Emily Benedict (District 7), the resolution accuses Broyles-Aplin of insufficiently preparing for the storm through routine tree trimming and vegetation management, then failing to adequately communicate about the company’s response when about half of the company’s 470,000 customers lost power, including thousands who did not have service restored for more than a week.
Both the Metro Council Rules, Confirmations, and Public Elections Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee reported unanimous votes to defer action. The resolution will be considered again at the Metro Council meeting on March 3.
Benedict was not present at the Metro Council meeting, but Johnston said she remained committed to passing the resolution in remarks reported by Fox 17.
“My voice is a reflection of the people that I represent. And they want accountability,” said Johnston.
The outlet also reported that Councilman Robert Nash (District 27), who serves on the Government Operations and Regulations and Public Health and Safety Committees, suggested Broyles-Aplin has the support of NES employees.
He told Fox 17, “I don’t know that they could have planned any better, not really knowing how much damage the storm was going to be here.”
Anne Davis, the chair of the NES board, told The Tennessee Star last week that any decision regarding Broyles-Aplin’s employment at NES would follow the company’s completion of an independent, third-party audit of its performance during Winter Storm Fern.
“Based on NES’ performance during the ice storm, it is clear that many improvements need to be made to prepare for future disasters,” said Davis.
She told The Star, “The board is conducting an independent ‘After Action Review’ related to the entirety of the NES response and will make decisions concerning all future corrective actions, including personnel, following this independent and comprehensive evaluation.”
In addition to the resolution under consideration in Nashville, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) called for Broyles-Aplin to resign, while Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) called for the company’s governance to be restructured to include board members from neighboring communities.
State House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-TN) said earlier this month the General Assembly was considering its options.
Watch the full Metro 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].
