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Council defers resolution urging Electric Power Board to fire Nashville Electric Service CEO amid probe
Summary
The Transportation & Infrastructure Committee on March 2 deferred action for 90 days on a resolution urging the Electric Power Board to terminate the Nashville Electric Service CEO, saying an independent investigation into the utility’s Storm Fern response and alleged preferential treatment of a state senator is underway.
The Transportation & Infrastructure Committee on March 2 voted to defer RS20261801 — a resolution urging the Electric Power Board of the Metropolitan Government to terminate the employment of Nashville Electric Service Chief Executive Officer Theresa Burles Applan — until its June 2 meeting to allow ongoing independent reviews to finish.
Council Member Benedict, who moved the 90-day deferral, said the power board has engaged two outside attorneys to investigate the utility’s readiness and response to Storm Fern and that an interim assessment is expected March 27, with a final report due no later than May 26. “The recent revelation that a sitting Tennessee senator was given preferential treatment further demonstrates the need for a thorough independent investigation,” Benedict said, adding that all records should be preserved in accordance with public records law and that the probe should examine both what happened and what should have happened.
Benedict also urged the investigation to disclose social-media activity and any changes in public-update protocols that reduced the frequency of information from hourly to three times a day during the storm response. “My hope is that not only are the metrics provided such as the number of times posts were made to social media, but also the content of those posts and why the social media protocol was changed,” Benedict said.
The committee moved and seconded the deferral; the motion passed with seven in favor, zero against, and one not voting. The deferral means the committee will revisit the resolution at its June 2 meeting or rely on the outside review’s findings in the interim.
The resolution’s sponsors — listed on the agenda as Benedict and Johnson — framed the measure as a probe of leadership and transparency at Nashville Electric Service. No formal responses from the Electric Power Board or Nashville Electric Service about the deferral or the senator-related allegation were recorded during the meeting.
Next step: the committee will take up the resolution again on June 2 unless sponsors withdraw or amend it after the outside investigation’s reports are issued.
