As nearly 40,000 households in Nashville enter a second week without power due to a crippling ice storm, Nashville Electric Service has come under intense scrutiny for their lack of preparation and readiness for the winter weather. And many are pointing to comments the CEO made last year about protecting the tree canopy as proof that the utility was more worried about environmental concerns than protecting the power grid.
Music City got hit with around a half inch of ice, which caused widespread power outages, forced businesses to shut down, and wreaked havoc on the roads. At one point on Sunday, Nashville Electric Service reported that there were around 240,000 customers without power – nearly half of the 470,000 customers in Davidson County.
The scenes out of Nashville when the storm hit on Sunday were almost post-apocalyptic, with trees falling on power lines, poles breaking, and roads completely impassable…