AUSTIN, Texas — Country music legend Tanya Tucker made an appearance at the Texas Capitol Wednesday, joining a growing debate over a massive expansion of the state’s power grid.
Texas is considering new 765-kilovolt transmission lines across parts of West and Central Texas as the state works to keep up with soaring electricity demand.
State grid operators say the new infrastructure is needed as Texas’ power needs continue to grow, driven in part by the oil and gas industry, large industrial users and data centers.
But the proposal is facing pushback from landowners and some state lawmakers who have raised concerns about property rights, the cost of the expansion and the sheer size of the projects.
Those concerns brought Tucker to Austin, where state leaders heard testimony Wednesday about the proposed transmission expansion.