Chris Hughes, Republican candidate for the Tennessee House of Representatives in District 45, is calling for immediate accountability and a full investigation into the Nashville Electric Service (NES) leadership following the failure to adequately prepare for and respond to the recent ice storms that left residents in Goodlettsville and Hendersonville, along with most of Nashville, without power for more than six days.
Hughes spoke not only as a candidate, but as a neighbor directly impacted by the outage.
“My own family has been without power since Sunday morning,” Hughes said. “That includes my 84 year old father-in-law, who has endured days of freezing temperatures, limited mobility, and the stress that comes with uncertainty. We are living the same reality as thousands of families across Sumner County figuring out how to stay warm, protect our homes, care for loved ones, and make sure our pets are safe without electricity.”
As of this week, tens of thousands of NES households and businesses across the service area were affected, with more than 70,000 still without power 6 days after the height of the crisis, including large portions of Sumner County and nearly the entirety of the 45th District. With the census bureau stating most households are on average 2-3 people, the number of individuals affected by this incompetence is in the hundreds of thousands.
“This is personal,” Hughes said. “I know firsthand the exhaustion, the frustration, and the worry families are feeling especially seniors, parents with young children, and those caring for animals in dangerous cold.”
Hughes emphasized that this crisis must never be laid at the feet of the men and women working to restore power.
“NES lineworkers and crews have been nothing short of heroic,” Hughes said. “They’ve worked around the clock in brutal, dangerous conditions. This situation is not a reflection of their dedication or work ethic. The failure rests squarely with leadership that did not prepare, did not communicate honestly, and did not act with urgency.”
NES serves multiple counties including Davidson and Sumner yet its governing structure fails to guarantee representation for every county it serves. Hughes says that lack of representation directly contributed to the neglect felt by communities like Goodlettsville and Hendersonville.
“Nashville wasn’t the only place left in the dark,” Hughes said. “NES didn’t just fail Davidson County, it failed Sumner County and the people of District 45, one hundred percent. When communities don’t have a seat at the table, they get forgotten.”
Hughes is calling for a thorough and independent investigation into NES leadership, including:
– What preparations were made ahead of the storm
– What leadership knew as the storm intensified
– Why communication to the public was inconsistent and often misleading
– Why outside assistance was initially refused, then later accepted
– Whether leadership attempted to minimize or cover up internal failures
“The question is simple,” Hughes said. “What did they know, and when did they know it? Families freezing in their homes deserved honest answers not shifting explanations.”
Just because NES has left hundreds of thousands of people in the dark both literally and figuratively about the decisions made during this storm, and the cover up that followed, does not mean we should accept this as normal or allow it to happen again. Silence and secrecy erode public trust. Our community deserves transparency, accountability, and clear answers before the next storm hits not excuses after the damage is done.
Hughes is also calling for new statewide legislation to prevent similar failures in the future, including:
– Requiring every county served by a public utility to have representation on its governing board
– Ensuring board members are selected by County Mayors to guarantee local accountability
– Strengthening emergency preparedness, mutual aid acceptance, and transparency requirements across Tennessee
“This isn’t just about one storm,” Hughes said. “It’s about making sure no family in Tennessee — no senior citizen, no child, no pet — is ever left powerless and unheard again because leaders failed to do their job.”
Chris Hughes is a candidate for the Tennessee House of Representatives in District 45, running on a platform of accountability, infrastructure readiness, and giving local communities a real voice in government.
Author
