Mayor Freddie O’Connell admonished NES on Sunday, bashing the electrical utility for being “unequipped to communicate about a crisis” as more than 30,000 customers wait to have their power restored.
- The criticism came after a meeting with NES leadership earlier in the day. O’Connell has tried to distance himself from NES’s response to last weekend’s ice storm in recent days.
Why it matters: The mayor said NES failed to share information last week that would have reshaped the city’s messaging about the ice storm recovery.
Driving the news: Following immense pressure from public officials last week, including Gov. Bill Lee, NES released a timeline over the weekend showing when it expected to bring power back across the city.
- NES estimated some Nashvillians won’t get power restored until early next week.
- Shortly after the timeline came out, O’Connell called NES’s pace of progress “unacceptable” and demanded a meeting.
What he’s saying: In his statement after the meeting, O’Connell doubled down on his criticism.
“Nashvillians can’t get the last week back — nights huddled under blankets, unplanned shelter or hotel stays, the uncertainty and fear of not knowing what’s happening and how long it will take to simply return home,” O’Connell said in his Sunday statement.
- “And that’s why it’s so troubling that details NES leadership shared about their internal outlook — that they hadn’t previously shared with us — would’ve had a huge impact on the public guidance we gave from the beginning of the crisis. That is unacceptable.”
The latest: MNPS students will miss their sixth day of school today due to the storm…