Metro Council delays resolution urging Nashville Electric Service board to fire CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplin amid scrutiny

Vote delay leaves leadership question unresolved

The Metro Nashville Council has again delayed action on a resolution urging the Electric Power Board to terminate Nashville Electric Service (NES) Chief Executive Officer Teresa Broyles-Aplin, extending uncertainty over the utility’s leadership as the city continues to assess its response to the late-January 2026 ice storm.

The resolution is nonbinding, meaning it would not directly remove the CEO. Instead, it serves as a formal request from the city’s legislative body to the Electric Power Board, which governs NES and holds authority over executive employment decisions.

Context: winter storm outages and public pressure

The leadership dispute follows widespread, prolonged outages after the January 2026 winter storm that damaged infrastructure across the region and disrupted electric service for a large share of NES customers. The storm prompted criticism from residents and elected officials over restoration timelines, customer communications, and operational readiness.

Calls for leadership changes have come from multiple levels of government, including state lawmakers, while other voices have emphasized the scale of the storm and the need for a formal, evidence-based review before personnel decisions are made.

Parallel reviews and governance mechanisms

Two tracks of oversight are proceeding alongside the delayed council resolution:

• Independent utility review: The Electric Power Board approved a third-party assessment of NES’s performance during the storm and related decision-making.

• Metro commission review: Mayor Freddie O’Connell established a Winter Storm Response Commission by executive order to examine preparation and response across Metro government functions connected to the event.

Together, these reviews are intended to document what occurred, quantify impacts, and identify operational or policy changes aimed at future emergencies.

What the council resolution does—and does not—do

The council’s measure does not alter the Electric Power Board’s legal authority or compel termination. Its practical impact is political and procedural: it signals the council’s position and increases pressure on the board to justify either retaining or removing the CEO. The repeated deferral means that signal remains unsettled, leaving the board without a current, definitive statement from the full council.

The delayed vote does not resolve whether the city’s next steps will focus on leadership change, structural reforms, or operational investments—decisions that may depend on findings from the ongoing reviews.

What happens next

Further council consideration is expected at a future meeting, while the Electric Power Board’s independent review and the mayoral commission’s work continue. In the meantime, Broyles-Aplin remains in her role, and the core questions driving the dispute—storm preparedness, restoration strategy, communications practices, and governance accountability—remain active issues for Metro leaders and NES customers.