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A resolution requesting Nashville Electric Service and the Electric Power Board to provide performance metrics and information regarding its tree trimming program and to continue working with the Metropolitan Council, the Metropolitan Department of Water and Sewerage Services, the Metropolitan Tree Advisory Committee, Cumberland River Compact, Nashville Tree Conservation Corps, Nashville Tree Foundation, and other conservation groups on refining the recently announced vegetation management changes to ensure that electric outage prevention is compatible with maintenance of a healthy tree canopy.
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WHEREAS, the tree canopy in Nashville and Davidson County is a utility that improves ambient air quality, absorbs and filters stormwater, mitigates the heat island and greenhouse effects, provides habitat for wildlife, supports public health, provides significant economic benefits, and increases the quality of life for Nashville's residents; and
WHEREAS, the city of Nashville has committed to protecting and expanding this important utility since 2018 through the Root Nashville Campaign, which committed to plant 500,000 trees by 2050; and
WHEREAS, Winter Storm Fern caused significant damage to the electric grid and the tree canopy in Nashville, Davidson County, and the surrounding areas, resulting in loss of power for 230,000 customers of Nashville Electric Service ("NES"); and
WHEREAS, an internal NES audit revealed that in recent years the utility company was behind on vegetation management and maintenance, thereby increasing risk for power outage; and
WHEREAS, recently NES has begun a new more aggressive tree trimming approach, which calls for an increased tree trimming clearance regardless of tree species or the health of the tree; and
WHEREAS, maps comparing recent vegetation-management routes and subsequent outage locations have raised questions regarding whether the newly introduced 15-foot clearance and no overhang requirements materially reduced outage...
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