Continuing to Monitor
Good afternoon, everyone. We are still monitoring the situation on the ground in Nashville... And not much more!
Things That Never Happen But Should Join us Thursday, February 19th for an evening with Sean Davis, CEO and co-founder of The Federalist. This is the third installment of the Pamphleteer's new monthly event series. Paying Bard-level subscribers receive free access to this and future events. (Buy Tickets)
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Continuing from our beat sheet from yesterday, with some updated information on the ice storm.
From Davis Hunt
⚡️ Power Levels As of this writing, the NES power outage map shows 132,450 customers without power. That’s 44,574 fewer people than yesterday. About 28 percent of the city remains powerless.
NES is prioritizing areas with 1,000+ customers without power, including Brick Church/North Nashville, Bellevue/West Nashville, Hendersonville, Elysian Fields, Madison, Rose Bank, East Nashville, Goodlettsville, Forest Hills, and Brentwood.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell expects the emergency declaration to remain in place for the full seven-day period, after which his office will reassess the situation.
Watch today's press conference featuring the mayor, NES, NDOT, Metro Water, MNPD, and other emergency responders here.
🪫 Staffing Concerns Kelly Avelino over at Fox17 ran with my digression yesterday about staffing levels at NES and got a comment from the utility on the matter.
“We’re continuing to work to bring in more and making sure we respond quickly,” Baker told the station. “We are partnering with crews from around the area, and as this storm was hitting, of course, everybody was holding on to their resources.”
A nothing-burger response, but since yesterday, NES has increased the number of linemen dealing with outages. At a press conference this afternoon, reporters peppered NES officials with questions about staffing. Brent Baker, the Chief Customer and Innovation Officer, told the gaggle that last night, the city had 631 linemen working.
As more workers join and the operation expands, they expect to have 925 linemen by the end of the day. Crews are moving into the area from Florida, Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Mississippi, and other parts of Tennessee.
In her write-up, Avelino compares NES to Middle Tennessee Electric. MTE told Fox17 they ended Monday with 607 lineworkers. The MTE Outage Map shows that only 2,395 of their 359,095 customers remain without power, down from ~8,000 at the start of Monday.
⛏️ Repairs NES put out a handy graphic showing what you need to fix yourself (with the help of a licensed electrician) and what you can expect the utility to handle.
✹ THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPEN BUT SHOULD
Welcome to America in 2026. You're sitting at the End of History. Nothing will ever happen again.
The steady march toward the impossible vision of a borderless world governed by rooms full of perfectly rational leaders incapable of committing evil in thought word or deed continues apace.
Will anything–can anything happen–that shakes us from our stupor? Is "Nothing Ever Happens" the law of the land? What should happen that hasn't happened?
Join us Thursday, February 19th as we sit down with Sean Davis, CEO and co-founder of The Federalist, to discuss whether anything will ever happen again and more. (Buy Ticket)
This event is for the benefit of The Pamphleteer and free for paying, Bard-level subscribers.
✹ QUOTE OF THE DAY
“My electrical power is out in Nashville. I thank God for gas fireplaces, stoves, candles, and flashlights. Did I also say smartphones? How many of you remember when the Democrats tried to ban gas stoves? I bet my gas/powered car works fine.”
Dr. Carol Swain
DEVELOPMENT
- AJ Capital Lands $475 Million Loan For Belle Meade Village In Nashville (Now Next)
- Nonprofit eyes affordable housing project for 12South-area site (Post)
- Boutique hotel to open in March in East Nashville (Post)
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Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik, and Camelia Brennan.