Should more power lines be moved underground? Nashville leaders respond after ice storm

Описание: Last month's ice storm left hundreds of thousands of families across Middle Tennessee without power — some for days.

Now, Nashville leaders are beginning to ask a broader question: Should more of the city’s power lines be moved underground to help prevent future outages?

That conversation surfaced this week during a Planning Commission discussion about Eastbend, a major new development proposed along Nashville’s East Bank.

During the meeting, commissioners discussed the scope of the Eastbend project — a large-scale development that would be built largely from scratch.

Because the area will be newly constructed, one commissioner questioned whether it would make sense to install underground power lines instead of traditional overhead lines.

“Because we’re recovering from an ice storm two weeks ago and as we talk about this being from the ground up, is that something that we are pursuing for this area?” a Planning Commissioner asked during the meeting.

The comment reflects frustration many residents felt after widespread outages caused by ice buildup, strong winds and falling tree limbs.

Planning leaders say underground utilities are part of a broader conversation about resiliency and long-term infrastructure planning.

On Wednesday, Nashville Electric Service (NES) confirmed it is studying whether more power lines across the city could be moved underground.

NES says it is examining:

-The potential cost of undergrounding more lines
-How long such projects would take
-Whether moving lines underground would significantly reduce outages caused by ice, wind and falling trees
-Underground lines are typically less vulnerable to storm damage, but the process can be expensive and time-consuming, particularly in already developed neighborhoods.

Commissioners have described Eastbend as a “once-in-a-century opportunity” — suggesting that if Nashville is going to rethink infrastructure, new developments may provide the best opportunity to build more storm-resistant systems from the start.

No formal decisions have been made, but city leaders say discussions about undergrounding utilities are likely to continue as Nashville evaluates how to strengthen its power grid after the recent ice storm.

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