Did NES understaff? We compared line worker numbers, and that led to questions

Описание: As single-digit temperatures rolled into Middle Tennessee Monday evening, about 143,000 Nashville Electric Service customers remained without power, and possibly heat. NES had restored electricity to more than 87,000 customers in the three days since Saturday's ice storm.

At the peak of the outages, 230,000 people were in the dark, the most company officials could ever recall.

“This is probably on record as the most severe outage NES has ever had,” said Brent Baker, NES Chief Operations & Innovation Officer.

As frustrated (and cold) customers posted comments online calling for more crews to restore power, FOX 17 News examined the staffing at NES compared to other power companies in the region, responding to the same storm.

Staffing numbers confirmed by the companies show neighboring Middle Tennessee Electric, which had nearly 200,000 fewer outages at the height of the storm, began Monday with significantly more lineworkers than NES- about 150 more.

NES reported having about *300 line workers in the field by mid-Monday, while MTE reported it began the day with 467 line workers, in emails with FOX 17 News. MTE reported about 8,000 outages, at the time. NES was dealing with approximately 175,000 outages, about 21 times more.

FOX 17 asked whether NES was understaffed or behind in its response. Baker said the utility is continuing to ramp up crews.

“We’re continuing to work to bring in more and making sure we respond quickly,” Baker said. “We are partnering with crews from around the area, and as this storm was hitting, of course everybody was holding on to their resources.”

NES officials said that as of Monday night, about 500 line workers were actively restoring power, with plans to add another 100 workers overnight. NES continues to bring in crews from across the state and from as far away as Florida, Indiana, and Mississippi.

"We're making significant progress over the last 24 hours," said Baker. "Crews have been widespread across the community."

Baker also said crews from Memphis battled difficult road conditions to make it to the Nashville area.

MTE confirmed it would end Monday with 607 line workers, also having brought in more help during the day. MTE serves more than 359,000 customers. NES serves about 470,000.

“We’ve been doing layers, periodically coming out and sitting in the car with the heater,” said Ken Duncan, who lives in Nashville.

Duncan and his wife say their thermostat now reads 47 degrees, as their power went out after a tree fell near their home. Their block, as well as other parts of Nashville, resemble a frozen disaster zone, forcing thousands of people to find alternative ways to stay warm.

As for when power will be fully restored, there’s still no clear timeline.

"This is going to be multiple days into the weekend, and until we get through the next couple of days, we won't be able to put an end on the exact time," said Baker.

*Local power companies have posted different stats online about outages and their response. In confirming the information, FOX 17 News made sure to specify line workers, from field crews in general, which could include tree trimmers, engineers, spotters, and other kinds of jobs.

https://fox17.com/news/local/did-nes-...
_______________
Follow! Like! Share! Subscribe!

WZTV on Facebook:   / foxnashville  
WZTV on X:   / foxnashville  

https://fox17.com

Email us: [email protected]
Call the Newsroom: 615.369.1717

Fox 17 provides local news, weather, sports, traffic and entertainment for Nashville and nearby towns and communities in Middle Tennessee, including Forest Hills, Brentwood, Franklin, Fairview, Dickson, Clarksville, White House, Greenbrier, Springfield, Gallatin, Hartsville, Lebanon, Mt Juliet, Smyrna, College Grove, Thompson’s Station, Centerville, Murfreesboro, Columbia, Lewisburg, Shelbyville, Manchester, McMinnville, Smithville, Sparta, Cookeville, Hohenwald, Waverly, Camden, Paris, Lafayette, Portland, and in Kentucky, Russelville, Bowling Green, Franklin, Alvaton, Scottsville, Hopkinsville, Glasgow.

#WZTV #fox17news #foxnashville #nashville #tennessee #tn #middletn #localnews #breakingnews #trending #winterstorm #winterweather #icestorm #poweroutages