NES says 2,000 customers still without power after storms

Lizzy Alfs
The Tennessean

Nashville Electric Service is reporting fewer than 2,000 customers are still without power as of Sunday afternoon following damaging storms over the weekend.

The NES outage map shows affected customers are scattered across Nashville, with 1,962 customers without power in the area as of 3:24 p.m. Sunday. Power should be restored within 24 to 48 hours unless potential storms headed toward Nashville cause additional damage, NES said.

In a statement about the outages, NES said 60 crews are working around the clock to restore power, including contract crews that were called in from East Tennessee and Indiana.

NES said power is restored to hospitals, police departments, fire stations and other public health and safety facilities before individual homes.

"When storms of this magnitude damage our electrical system, we have to repair the main infrastructure before we can get to individual homes. Think of our system as a tree. We work to repair the main system and substations first, or the trunk. Only after those repairs are made can we start working on the primary lines, or branches, then move to the secondary lines, or smaller branches," the statement says.

Severe winds and rain downed power lines and trees, and even blew out windows in several Middle Tennessee counties on Friday evening. The National Weather Service reported winds up to 80 mph during the storm. More storms passed through the area on Saturday.

At the highest point, more than 49,000 people were without power in Nashville while crews worked to repair the damage to more than 50 poles. Similar outages were reported across Rutherford County. As of 5 p.m. Saturday, more than 10,000 NES customers remained without power. 

NES is encouraging people without power to take precautions with the high Sunday near 90 degrees. 

Reach Lizzy Alfs at lalfs@tennessean.com or 615-726-5948 and on Twitter @lizzyalfs.