Severe storms recently swept through Middle Tennessee this past weekend, knocking out power for more than 60,000 customers across the NES service area. NES infrastructure was damaged during the storms, leaving behind 71 broken poles, a circuit issue impacting several downtown customers and a substation fire.
More than 480 NES employees immediately jumped in to help with restoration efforts. Line workers, contract line workers, engineers, assessors, system operators, dispatchers, meter technicians, call center representatives and management members all united to work around the clock to bring power back to NES customers. Conditions were brutal as the storm brought heavy rain, damaging winds, downed trees and isolated flooding, making restoration efforts even more challenging.
Despite all of these obstacles, the speed of restoration was remarkable. Hundreds of NES employees worked over 10,000 hours cumulatively, and crews were able to restore power to 50,000 customers within the first 24 hours following the storm. Within four days, crews were able to restore power to all customers experiencing an outage from storms over the weekend.
Besides the most recent severe weather event, in the past five years NES has successfully responded to several other severe weather events, like:
- the March 2020 tornado that destroyed homes, businesses, churches and schools for miles, leaving nearly 1,000 broken poles in its path and almost 50,000 customers in the dark.
- A 2020 derecho windstorm that brought hurricane-force winds through the area, knocking out power for nearly 130,000 customers.
- A December 2021 storm and tornado that left more than 90,000 customers without power
- In March 2023, another windstorm hit the NES service area, knocking out power for nearly 115,000 customers.
- In December 2023, a tornado swept across Middle Tennessee, knocking out power for more than 48,000 NES customers.
Middle Tennessee is no stranger to severe weather, and NES remains prepared for any potential storms that come our way. Hard hats off to NES employees for their bravery, dedication and selfless service.
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