Nashville Electric Service
| Company type | Publicly owned utility |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electric utility |
| Predecessor | Tennessee Electric Power Company (TEPCO) |
| Founded | 1939 |
| Headquarters | Nashville , United States |
Area served | Nashville/Davidson County and sections of six adjacent counties |
Key people | Board of five members appointed by the Mayor, CEO (name not specified) |
| Products | Electricity |
Number of employees | 500 |
| Parent | Metropolitan government of Nashville and Davidson County |
Nashville Electric Service is ranked among the top 11 largest publicly owned electric utilities in the United States, providing electricity to more than 450,000 customers within a service area that encompasses all of Nashville/Davidson County as well as sections of six adjacent counties.
Operation
The governance of NES is entrusted to a five-person Board whose members are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Metro Council. These Board members serve staggered, unpaid terms lasting five years each. The Board is responsible for selecting a CEO who oversees the organization's daily functions and personnel management.
Electricity supplied to NES is purchased from the federally operated Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which delivers power throughout Tennessee and portions of six neighboring states. In 2016, the composition of NES’s energy sourced from TVA consisted of 39.8% nuclear, 25.8% coal-based, 21.5% natural gas-based, 9.7% hydroelectric, and a combined 3.2% from wind and solar energy.
History
The Tennessee Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which had served as Nashville’s investor-owned utility since 1922, initiated legal action against the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1938 concerning power sales within Nashville. The lawsuit was unsuccessful, leading to TEPCO’s dissolution in 1939. TVA acquired TEPCO’s assets for $79 million, while Nashville assumed control over TEPCO’s power generation and distribution systems by establishing the Electric Power Board of Nashville to oversee these operations. This Board later adopted the name Nashville Electric Service (NES) and incorporated TEPCO’s workforce of approximately 500 employees. Following the 1963 consolidation of Nashville and Davidson County governments, the Board became an entity within the metropolitan government structure.