Photo: Dan Pratt of TVA and Decosta Jenkins of NES assess bombing damage in Nashville, TN
Photo Credit: courtesy of TVA
Published April 2, 2021
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
On Thursday, the Tennessee Valley Authority announced a collaboration with Nashville Electric Service to give $200,000 to victims of the Nashville Christmas bombing.
The money is to be issued to customers of either electricity provider, who were affected at their homes, businesses, or jobs by the December 2020 bombing incident.
Dan Pratt, TVA Senior Vice President of Regional Relations, noted the opportunity for extra assistance that was made available through the partnership.
“All of us at TVA appreciate the strong partnership we have with NES, and the opportunity to join with them to help people get back to work and businesses back up and running in downtown Nashville,” Pratt stated. “Our partnership doubles the impact we can have on serving the community and helping those who were affected by the tragic bombing.”
According to NES, individual customers may request assistance regardless of income. Those applications can be found through Needlink.org.
TVA reports that NES will be using Needlink to determine if residences and businesses qualify for assistance based on their customer database. This site will allow them to access account information and to verify individuals’ addresses to process relief requests.
Individuals who were employees of businesses that were impacted by the bombing must submit proof that they were employed at the time of the incident. This could be a letter from the employer, a pay stub, or a separation notice.
Eligible residential customers will be given $300. Commercial customers who are eligible will be given $1200. Those who apply for relief funds but no longer have an active account with NES or TVA will receive a lesser amount applied to their final account balance.
“What happened last year was devastating for the city of Nashville, but NES is fortunate enough to be able to lend a helping hand,” said Sylvia Smith, Vice President of Customer Relations for NES. “We are grateful for our customers, and this is another way to continuously return the favor.”
This is not the first time in recent months that TVA has partnered with a local electric company to provide much needed relief funds to local residents.
TVA partnered with a number of different area electric companies to give COVID-19 relief funds over the past year. Those partnerships allowed TVA to provide $2 million in matching funds to local organizations across Tennessee. These organizations assisted individuals as well as a number of non-profit organizations throughout the state.
“TVA has a mission of service to make life better for the people of the Valley, and providing these funds to address immediate needs is one way we can help ease the burdens on families and communities,” stated Jeannette Mills, TVA executive vice president and chief external relations officer.
TVA receives no taxpayer funding for these initiatives, instead obtaining all of its revenue from the sale of electricity.
