MURFREESBORO, TN - Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE) and the City of Murfreesboro are celebrating the five-year anniversary of their electric utility merger, which has provided over $60 million so far to fund city projects and nonprofits through the Community Investment Trust. Originally approved in 2020, the $302 million deal continues to support infrastructure, economic development, and local charities. MTE highlighted benefits like upgraded streetlighting, lower connection fees, improved technology, better customer service, and new solar energy initiatives. Mayor Shane McFarland praised the merger, saying it has helped secure the city’s financial future. The Trust’s board oversees investments and contributions, including nearly $500,000 awarded this year to 29 local nonprofits.
READ ALL THE DETAILS - Middle Tennessee Electric, in a July 1, 2025, letter from MTE President/CEO Chris Jones to Mayor Shane McFarland, highlighted the benefits and accomplishments on the five-year anniversary of the merger with the former MED.
“I trust you remain appreciative of and excited about the financial proceeds the merger brings to the City—more than $300 million to do great things for the city’s future (the fifth of 15 annual installment payments of $17,290,133.38 is being wired to the City today),” said Chris Jones, “I also congratulate you and the City for leveraging these proceeds to benefit the City of Murfreesboro now and for generations to come through efforts like the Community Investment Trust.”
On Jan. 9, 2020, the Murfreesboro City Council adopted Resolution 19-R-30 approving the sale of the City’s electric system and operations to Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation (MTEMC). The merger transaction became effective July 1, 2020, after receiving approval from the MTE Board of Directors and TVA.
The merger transaction provided the City with approximately $302.35 million over 15 years to help fund infrastructure and other long-term public projects to facilitate economic development with Council approval. The City manages these funds through the Murfreesboro Community Investment Trust. Since the Trust was established, the City has received over $60 million for City projects, such as roadways and parks. Additionally, investment in non-profit organizations serving the community has doubled to nearly $500,000 this fiscal year. Contributions from the Trust to the City and non-profit partners are expected to continue to increase for decades into the future.
In responding to the letter and five-year anniversary, Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland stated: “I felt comfortable about the decision then with Chris Jones and his team at the helm. I feel even more comfortable now. Our goal has always been to put Murfreesboro first and secure the financial success and future of our City for generations.”
The attached MTE report provides a snapshot of the benefits realized by the MED/MTE Merger, including new services to Murfreesboro residents and businesses, initiatives to support a smooth transition, initiatives that support on-going improved member service, technology improvements, information technology improvements, community engagement, innovations, and operations improvements, as well as vegetation management improvements.
Just a few of the positive impacts listed in the letter and MTE “Snapshot of Benefits” include:
- In December of 2021, MTE began an effort to replace downtown-area streetlights with advanced LED lights. All told, MTE’s efforts to augment and improve streetlighting for the City will result in approximately $2 million in savings within the first 15 years of the merger
- For the fifth year, MTE is thrilled to be the presenting sponsor ($35,000) of the City’s July 4th Celebration Under the Stars. The idea for this sponsorship was an initiative by MTE toward the City
- MTE has made annual pledges of $50,000 to the City’s Economic Development Fund, and as we culminate our fifth year, MTE earlier this fiscal year delivered on these pledges by sending the City a check for $250,000 to supplement the City’s effort around the Broad Street revitalization
- MTE lowered fees for City residents, including: Standard new-service Connection Fee lowered from MED’s $50 to MTE’s $40
- Our coming together eliminated confusion among consumers about the two systems
- MTE introduced a new rate option for residential members. Members can now shift a substantial portion of their energy use to off-peak hours each day can save money with our new NiteFlex rate
- Within the first two weeks of the merger, we completed a major enterprise software upgrade that brought the technology platforms of our utilities together
- In 2023, MTE upgrade its online member portal on its website (mte.com). This provides a variety of enhanced features for members who use the portal to pay their bill, learn about their usage, report an outage, etc.
- MTE replaced Murfreesboro’s AMR meters with MTE’s more advanced AMI meters
- MTE is adding more solar generation to benefit its members in Rutherford County
- MTE has a Tesla substation-scale battery and a microgrid (a combination of solar and storage) as part of its system
- There were 28 miles of older, small copper wire in the Downtown area, which becomes brittle with age and is susceptible to breakage during inclement weather. MTE moved quickly to replace some of the most susceptible of this infrastructure, and we have plans to replace it all with modern wire
- We have carefully worked to clear and maintain a total of approximately 337 miles of electrical lines within the City over the last two years
“While the City will enjoy financial benefits from our merger for years to come,” Jones said in the letter. “It has also gained a better overall electric service provider through the combining of the two electric utilities.”
Meanwhile, from the City of Murfreesboro, the Community Investment Trust (CIT) Board of Trustees, established in 2021 from the proceeds of the sale of the City’s electric department to MTE and City Charter, meets regularly to advise on investments of the proceeds. A separate Committee on Contributions recommends funding of qualified charitable organizations from a portion of the proceeds. The CIT Board of Trustees approves the distribution which is approved by City Council. For the fiscal year FY26, $490,696 was distributed to twenty-nine (29) charitable organizations.
Members of the Trust’s Board of Trustees are: Kevin Gentry, chair, Shawn Applegate, Anne C. Davis, Stephen F. Flatt, Rick LaLance, Lee M. Moss, and Richard C Stone, Jr. Members of the Committee on Contributions are: Carl D. Montgomery, chair, John A. Hinkle, Jr., Lynn Lien, Lyle Lynch, Wade Hays, Ronnie Martin, Collier Andress Smith.
