In the wake of the historic damage caused by Winter Storm Fern, Nashville Electric Service (NES) today announced a major shift in its vegetation management strategy to a more proactive and aggressive approach to tree trimming in its service area.
During Winter Storm Fern, half of NES customers lost power with the vast majority of outages caused by trees and heavy limbs falling on power lines. Some of the outages were caused by limbs above power lines breaking, even though limbs near the lines were trimmed.
“We are taking a data-forward approach to identify risks vegetation has on our system and are changing our protocols to be much more aggressive when it comes to tree trimming,” said Teresa Broyles-Aplin, NES president and CEO.
Effective immediately, NES will transition to the new tree trimming protocols near all power lines. The protocols call for a 15-foot trim clearance on both sides of a power line, instead of the current 10-foot trim clearance. The trimming now will be done from the base of the tree to the top of the tree, a process referred to as ground to sky.
In addition, by March 2, NES will begin using LiDAR, a technology that provides accurate imaging of powerlines and the vegetation surrounding them, to scan the entire 4,800 miles of overhead lines. This will be used to create a 3D map of the electrical grid, which will allow NES to better identify risks and adapt its tree trimming activity. After a storm, the LiDAR technology imaging can be used like an X-Ray to see through debris, fallen trees and ice to make damage assessments in the field faster.
Between July 2025 and January, NES completed approximately 600 miles of planned line trimming for the year. Since Winter Storm Fern began, crews have assessed and trimmed over 2,800 miles of additional lines to address overhanging and storm-damaged trees that pose risk of outages.
NES understands the aesthetic value of Nashville’s trees. The utility is committed to working with homeowners to provide educational resources on planting the right tree in the right place. While the new trimming protocols are more assertive, they will be done by professional crews following industry standards to ensure the long-term health of the trees.
Trees growing directly under or within 15 feet of power lines are difficult to trim and retain natural aesthetics. In these situations, it may be best to remove the tree. When that occurs, NES will review the site and scenario to determine inclusion in the NES tree planting program. Since its inception in 1989, NES has planted more than 65,000 trees and has contributed to many thousands more plantings in the greater Nashville area through corporate partnerships and sponsorships.
For more information on the updated tree trimming protocols and how it may affect your neighborhood, please visit nespower.com/electrical-
In addition, NES leadership has launched the Four Pillars Initiative in the aftermath of Winter Storm Fern to immediately improve the following areas:
- Formalized Emergency Command: NES is establishing a dedicated emergency management leadership structure to ensure a seamless, high-intensity transition from daily operations to a disciplined crisis response.
- Unified Customer Communications: NES is conducting a top-to-bottom audit of its outreach systems to identify and bridge every gap, ensuring customers receive real-time, transparent updates during the height of a storm.
- Data-Driven Restoration Timelines: NES is overhauling the methodologies used to calculate estimated times of restoration, integrating more granular field data to provide residents with the accurate, neighborhood-specific windows they need.
- Strategic Infrastructure Hardening: NES is launching a dual-track assessment to identify high-risk corridors for undergrounding power lines while simultaneously intensifying the structural maintenance of our existing above-ground grid.
Four task forces are working now to identify and develop systems to address each of these four areas, and NES will continually update the public on any actions implemented to improve its response to future storms.
The NES Power Board has approved conducting an independent, after-action review to be completed in 90 days. This evaluation is designed to capture critical lessons from the recent storm while details are still clear, ensuring the utility is fully prepared before the spring and summer storm seasons.
Other steps NES has taken to help customers after the ice storm include:
- NES has suspended all service disconnections and late fees through June. For customers who received bills before the suspension of disconnections and late fees was instituted, all late fees have been reversed for those beginning Jan. 29.
- The utility is introducing an unprecedented level of flexibility by offering unlimited payment arrangements for all customers through December 2026.
Subscribe to our Newsletter!
 today announced a major shift in its vegetation management strategy to a more proactive and aggressive approach to tree trimming in its service area.){kind=link}