NASHVILLE — Nashville Electric Service has signed the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, a commitment aimed at protecting existing customers from costs associated with grid expansion and generation needed for large-scale industrial and technology developments.
The pledge states that large-scale industrial developments and technology infrastructure projects should pay their fair share of grid expansion and generation costs.
“As Middle Tennessee continues to attract new, high-demand partners, our commitment remains to protect the affordability for our existing customers and economic development,” NES President and CEO Teresa Broyles-Aplin said.
Broyles-Aplin said households, small businesses, schools, hospitals and local employers should not see higher electric bills because a large new customer requires substantial investments in the electric system.
NES also said it is implementing advanced planning frameworks for incoming data center facilities. The utility is working with regional partners and power suppliers on structured load-management agreements, renewable integration options and power-delivery infrastructure.
NES said the protocols are intended to align data center onboarding with long-term grid reliability without compromising local service quality.
NES also announced a new monthly reporting system that will make information about the utility’s performance publicly available. The reports will track safety, grid reliability and maintenance, customer experience and fiscal accountability.
Among the information to be reported are injuries and vehicle accidents, outage response times, interruption frequency, vegetation management progress, service request resolution times, call center efficiency, capital budget execution, project timelines and cost-containment measures.
The monthly dashboard will be available to the public and reviewed during regularly scheduled Electric Power Board meetings.
“Enhanced transparency leads to better service,” Broyles-Aplin said. “Our new monthly goal reporting provides our customers and board members with clear, measurable insights into how NES is executing on its operational priorities every single month.”
NES also announced Robert “Jaz” Boon as a new board member. Boon is a Nashville attorney with Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison and previously served as assistant general counsel at Bridgestone Americas. His experience includes business litigation, environmental and health and safety compliance and sustainability.
Boon earned his law degree from Belmont University College of Law and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Lipscomb University. He serves on the board of Urban Green Lab and as vice chair of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section.
