Oncor sued the City of Lubbock and Lubbock Power & Light on January 12 for a court order to stop part of a fourth connection between Lubbock and ERCOT in West Lubbock – nicknamed the “West Loop” in public records.
Matt Rose, the chief public affairs officer for LP&L, would not comment on the lawsuit but briefly explained the project, describing it as, “vital to the future success of the Lubbock electrical grid.”
“A prospective 345 kV transmission line is currently being studied by ERCOT as a necessary addition to the regional electrical grid … greatly increasing the reliability and resiliency of the electrical system that delivers power to Lubbock citizens,” Rose said.
LP&L’s public records online said West Loop upgrades are estimated to cost $51.4 million in the first year with another $16 million in the next year.
The upgrades include rebuilding five different transmission lines inside the city plus a new 345 kV to 115 kV Alcove switching station. The Alcove switching station is the heart of the dispute – not the five lines inside the city.
Why does Lubbock need the Alcove station? ERCOT operates at 345 kilovolts. But LP&L’s system operates mostly at 115 kilovolts (with some 69 kV lines too). This requires a 345-to-115 step down to connect with each other. That’s what the Alcove station will do and it’s something Oncor claimed Lubbock cannot own.
LubbockLights.com reached out to an Oncor spokesman Thursday, but by late Friday morning, the company had not responded.
Introducing the players
ERCOT is the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. It’s the power grid manager for most of the state.
Oncor is a Dallas-based electric delivery company – with more than 144,000 miles of transmission line in Texas.
Sharyland was the transmission company that helped connect Lubbock to ERCOT. Oncor bought out Sharyland and with it an LP&L contract.
Money is not the issue. Ownership and control are. The lawsuit specifically said Oncor is not seeking money except for court costs and attorney fees.
Does Lubbock have the right to go forward with a power station that converts 345 kilovolt power (on ERCOT) down to 115 kilovolts inside the city? That’s the question.
LubbockLights.com was not able to see if LP&L has the right to own all or a percentage of the fourth connection to ERCOT.
Here’s why.
The lawsuit specifically withheld a copy of a contract between Oncor and LP&L. And the text of the lawsuit also blacked out quotes from the contract – explaining they are confidential.
Quoting from the lawsuit
“For clarification, Oncor is not contending that LP&L cannot build certain future 115 kV station(s) for load serving purposes. However, because the lines at issue in this case are 345 kV voltage and, thus, require a 345 kV switching station to be built in order for the voltage to be stepped-down to 115 kV for load serving purposes, this dispute specifically pertains to the ownership of 345 kV transmission station(s).”
Source: Oncor’s lawsuit against Lubbock – case D-1-GN-26-000237 in the 98th State District Court in Travis County.
The original contract was with Sharyland Utilities. The lawsuit said Oncor took the “rights and obligations” of the contract in August 2018.
Oncor and LP&L tried to come to an agreement about “future construction and ownership of the facilities,” the lawsuit said. But the two sides still do not agree.
“Throughout these communications, LP&L has asserted that it is entitled to own, not only future transmission lines, but also any future stations under [the contract],” the lawsuit claimed.
Oncor claims it has the right to decide whether to develop new transmission lines and only then can LP&L exercise “development rights.” It also claimed Lubbock confused lines for stations in its interpretation of the contract.
“LP&L’s future development rights are contractual in nature and only exist for future transmission lines – not stations,” the lawsuit stated.
LP&L has not yet filed its side of the story in court records.
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