After cataclysmic tree loss, Nashville residents fear damage from new NES tree trimming policy

The Nashville Electric Service is cutting down more trees and limbs across town under a new policy. 

After record outages affected half of the city during the ice storm in January, the power company that serves all of Nashville expanded the zone it clears between trees and utility infrastructure from 10 to 15 feet. NES will now also cut or trim more  vegetation growing directly below utility poles and lines. 

Emotional and angry reactions have been swift and widespread in the city, generating numerous posts on social media as residents find trees cut in dramatic ways. One significant issue, critics say, is that NES has not provided adequate communication and transparency about its decision. 

“The move from 10 to 15-foot clearance, what’s the why behind it?” said Stephanie Mahnke, executive director of the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps. “They say they’re doing the reviews. They say they’re doing it all by data, but we haven’t seen it.” 

More: Ice storm continuing coverage

The Nashville Tree Conservation Corps and the Cumberland River Compact, which is the nonprofit partnered with the city on its tree-planting program, sent a letter to NES requesting a temporary moratorium on the new tree program.  

“In the aftermath of the severe winter ice storm earlier this year, Nashville experienced near cataclysmic levels of tree loss and damage,” the letter says, pointing to initial estimates of upwards of tens of thousands of lost trees. “Its impact on our urban canopy will be felt for generations. Given this context, any policy that may accelerate additional tree loss should be approached with care, transparency, and data-driven justification.” 

Courtesy Nashville Electric Service

The Nashville Electric Service increased the setback between trees and utility infrastructure in a new policy.

The groups argued that NES has not shared a cost-benefit analysis comparing the grid reliability gains against a substantial loss of trees. Additionally, NES was not keeping up with its vegetation management before the storm. So, the groups suggest the power company should first determine whether consistent application of the original standards would have reduced the extent of damage.

NES has been inconsistent with communication, critics say

NES has been trimming trees or even cutting trees down without speaking to property owners first. Some folks have gone to work and come home to find their tree missing and a notice on their door from NES, according to Mahnke. 

People have also shared complaints that NES has cut beyond a 15-foot clearance, or that the company has chopped down entire sides of trees, leaving them vulnerable to disease or falling.

Phillip Lehner got a notice from the Nashville Electric Service on his door last month.  

“I think it just said, ‘Tree removal,’ ” Lehner said. 

He lives in East Nashville on a street filled with mature trees. But some of the canopy now looks a little lopsided after NES trimmed about a dozen trees on his block. 

One of those trees was in his front yard: A hackberry tree with branches near a utility line was trimmed laterally. The weight of the tree is now pointing towards his home, and he watched nervously during recent thunderstorms. 

“The tree will bend in the wind across the driveway and towards my house,” he said. “I’m definitely worried it’s going to come down.” 

When Lehner and his wife learned about the plan for the tree, they requested that NES cut down the tree. It was ultimately laterally trimmed. 

A few houses down the block, a neighbor’s house has a tree with an even more noticeable lean. 

Caroline Eggers WPLN News

The Nashville Electric Service laterally trimmed a tree on Patton Ave in Nashville.

Lehner says NES seems to be in a reactive stance to trees after facing criticism earlier this year.  He says the new policy does not give proper consideration for how it affects homeowners.  

“This seems like swinging the pendulum way, way to the other side, and I feel like I’m being left to shoulder liability,” Lehner said. 

NES, consultant defend new policy

NES has a legal right to trim and remove trees thanks to Tennessee law dating back to 1935.

“Courts in Tennessee support a public utility’s right to trim and remove trees, both within and outside of the right-of-way,” the company wrote in a post.

An option that could save more trees overall is burying utility lines and hardening poles. The NES Board authorized a three-year, $3 million study to test whether the move is “financially sustainable.” 

NES did not directly respond to WPLN about what data it used for the new trimming policy. The company is using “lateral pruning techniques, an accepted best practice” to trim trees, a NES spokesperson said in an email.  

NES wrote it “understands the aesthetic value of Nashville’s trees” in a post about its new tree policy. 

Trees provide a multitude of benefits to urban residents, ranging from better air quality, lower electricity bills, less stormwater runoff and healthier waterways. 

The company received support for its new tree policy last month in a preliminary report from PA Consulting, which was hired to review NES’ management and communication after the NES Board launched a review following the ice storm.

“NES took appropriate, aggressive action to enhance vegetation trimming standards,” the authors wrote.