Nashville Electric Service celebrates 85 years of powering Music City
The front page of The Tennessean captured a stunning array of events the day Nashville Electric Service took over as power provider in 1939 to a city then home to 167,000 people.
German Chancellor Adolf Hitler was making moves in the Polish city of Danzig, mere weeks before Germany invaded Poland and World War II began. A boost to wages was coming to Nashville through the Works Progress Administration, established as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's famed New Deal as The Great Depression lingered.
In the middle of it all, a group businessmen and public officials — and a few hundred onlookers — gathered in New York City to finalize a history-making deal made possible by a U.S. Supreme Court decision after a years-long battle. The Tennessee Valley Authority, or TVA, purchased the Tennessee Electric Power Company for a whopping $78,600,000. That would come out to around $1.8 billion today, adjusting for inflation.
From that point forward, TVA, also established under the New Deal, was in charge of electricity for dozens of municipalities and power companies across Middle Tennessee, including Nashville Electric Service. The transfer made Tennessee the first state in the nation to offer power through a public company. It also brought much-needed relief to customers through lower rates.
Since that day, Nashville Electric Service has celebrated countless milestones. The company outlined a few of those in a news release celebrating its 85th anniversary this summer. Here are just a few:
It saw the advent of major electrical advances like the metal conduit, flexible armored cable and watt-hour meter.
It was there to turn the lights on at iconic Nashville venues like the Nashville Symphony, Opryland USA and The Bluebird Cafe.
It has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars of dollars to organizations like the United Way of Greater Nashville and the PENCIL Foundation.
It has grown to serve more than 2.1 million customers in the greater Metro Nashville area.
In 1954, the Nashville Electric Service became a fixture in the Music City skyline when its domed building was christened at 1214 Church St.
Here are a few key numbers that illustrate the full reach of Nashville Electric Service today:
It is now one of the 12 largest public utilities in the United States.
It serves all of Davidson County and parts of six surrounding counties.
It is responsible for nearly 7,000 miles of distribution and transmission lines.
It covers 700 square miles across the Middle Tennessee region.
The company has also navigated numerous disasters affecting more and more customers as the region around it has grown, including severe floods, tornadoes, extreme high and low temperatures and even a bombing in downtown Nashville.
In the news release, the company said it is committed to finding more ways to engage the community around it, provide cleaner electricity and keep residents connected to safe and reliable power.
"For more than eight decades, you have trusted us to power your businesses, homes and communities," the release said. "That is not something we take lightly."
