STEPHENVILLE/AUSTIN — By the time the state troopers got to the doors Wednesday night, the room was already emptying.
The people inside weren’t actually ready for the meeting to end.
Bonnie Terrell, front, Emily Martin Howle and Brandon Huckabee, the Erath County Judge, exit a hearing room after testifying against a proposed 765kv transmission line route at a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Gary Montgomery holds pillows and waits for a charter bus that will take he and his wife to the State Capitol in Austin to attend a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting on Wednesday morning in Stephenville, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Emily Martin Howle, right, speaks with Joanna Friebele outside of hearing room after Friebele testified against a proposed 765kv transmission line route at a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Erath county resident Lance Trinque rides a charter bus to the State Capitol in Austin to testify at a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting against a proposed 765-kV transmission line route early Wednesday morning, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
A charter bus stops in an H-E-B parking lot in Lampasas to pick up additional passengers to testify at a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the State Capitol in Austin on Wednesday morning, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
People sign up to testify at a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
No 765-kV transmission line buttons sit on a table in a lounge at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
State Rep. Shelby Slawson’s office in the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Emily Martin Howle works on preparing testimonies opposing a proposed 765kv transmission line route ahead of a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
An agenda is posted outside of a hearing room that held a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the John H. Regan State Office Building in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
House of Representative State Affairs committee members Megan Quijano, Ken King and Ryan Guillen listen to testimonies on proposed data centers and 765kv transmission lines at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Joanna Friebele holds her testimony against a proposed 765kv transmission line route at a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. Friebele did not have time to read the last line of her testimony during the meeting.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Land owners from across Texas react to comments made by House of Representative State Affairs committee members on 765kV transmission lines in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Erath County Judge Brandon Huckabee rubs his face while talking to Emily Martin Howle at the end of a 12 hour long House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting on data centers and 765kV transmission lines in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Gary Montgomery holds pillows and waits for a charter bus that will take he and his wife to the State Capitol in Austin to attend a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting on Wednesday morning in Stephenville, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Erath county resident Lance Trinque rides a charter bus to the State Capitol in Austin to testify at a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting against a proposed 765-kV transmission line route early Wednesday morning, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
A charter bus stops in an H-E-B parking lot in Lampasas to pick up additional passengers to testify at a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the State Capitol in Austin on Wednesday morning, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
People sign up to testify at a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
No 765-kV transmission line buttons sit on a table in a lounge at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
State Rep. Shelby Slawson’s office in the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Emily Martin Howle works on preparing testimonies opposing a proposed 765kv transmission line route ahead of a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
An agenda is posted outside of a hearing room that held a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the John H. Regan State Office Building in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
House of Representative State Affairs committee members Megan Quijano, Ken King and Ryan Guillen listen to testimonies on proposed data centers and 765kv transmission lines at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Emily Martin Howle, right, speaks with Joanna Friebele outside of hearing room after Friebele testified against a proposed 765kv transmission line route at a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Joanna Friebele holds her testimony against a proposed 765kv transmission line route at a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. Friebele did not have time to read the last line of her testimony during the meeting.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Land owners from across Texas react to comments made by House of Representative State Affairs committee members on 765kV transmission lines in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Erath County Judge Brandon Huckabee rubs his face while talking to Emily Martin Howle at the end of a 12 hour long House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting on data centers and 765kV transmission lines in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
But, like many other times during this process, they knew the choice wasn’t theirs to make.
Article continues below this ad
The landowners, many from across the state who face the possibility of high-voltage transmission lines being built across their property, traveled to Austin this week for the Texas House of Representatives’ State Affairs Committee hearing.
Dozens of them sat through the 12-hour hearing waiting for their name to be called to testify but weren’t acknowledged because time ran out.
They left defeated, disappointed and upset with a system they felt had wronged them repeatedly this past year.
One group of landowners said Wednesday was a tough lesson of how hard it is for ordinary Texans to participate in their state’s democracy.
“It definitely didn’t give me the warm and fuzzies,” Erath County resident Jimmie Fair said. “It’s disheartening to come all this way to not get the chance to talk. This is our lives.”
Article continues below this ad
Related: ‘People just need opportunity.’ How Texas neighbors came together to fight a 765kV power line
Stephenville land owner Jimmie Fair eats peanut butter crackers outside of the John H. Regan State Office Building during a 12 hour long House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting on data centers and 765kV transmission lines in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Last year, hundreds of Texans were notified the state was planning to build a 1,200-mile, multibillion-dollar 765-kilovolt transmission project to carry energy to the Permian Basin, and it may need to cut through their property.
ERCOT, the state’s grid operator, referred to the project as creating an electricity “superhighway.” Others have likened the proposed mappings as spiderwebs engulfing Texas.
Power lines as large as 765-kilovolt don’t yet exist in Texas.
Article continues below this ad
They can carry up to six times the electrical current of the widely used 345-kV lines and are much larger, with steel lattice towers about the height of a 15-story building. The lines also require a right-of-way about 200-feet wide to be cleared.
While state regulators and industry leaders have said additional transmission is necessary for building a more reliable electric grid, affected property owners have questioned whether other options like dispatchable generation are a better solution.
Beyond the arguments of whether this project is truly needed, much of the opposition has centered around two issues: The potential routes that cut through rural agricultural areas and the 180-day timeframe in which decisions on those routes need to be made.
“In this process, landowners are expected to understand complex administrative law and legal procedures and follow a grueling timeline,” Bonnie Terrell, whose 83-year-old ranch would be impacted, testified at the hearing. “They have to become investigators and regulatory experts to protect property they’ve spent generations stewarding. A process that affects people’s homes, livelihoods, family land, and financial legacies should be accessible, transparent and fair. If the stakes are this high, the process must earn the public’s trust, and this one doesn’t.”
Article continues below this ad
Heather Kincannon, left, hugs sister Bonnie Terrell after Terrell testified against a proposed 765kv transmission line route at a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
‘What could be the very end’
Before the sun rose Wednesday, pickups and SUVs pulled into the parking lot near Stephenville’s town square.
A few minutes passed as people lined up along the sidewalk and made small talk before the 4:30 a.m. bus arrived to take them to Austin.
Some people wore matching navy “Stronger Together” T-shirts and yellow “No 765kV transmission” pins.
Article continues below this ad
Lance Trinque, who lives along the Paluxy River, wore both along with his straw cowboy hat.
His most important accessory, however, may have been the worn black binder in his hands labeled “power line.” Inside, it held what he hoped to tell lawmakers to persuade them not to approve the 765-kV on his land.
It was his second time riding the bus provided by the nonprofit group Protect The Paluxy Valley Inc. so he could testify at the Capitol about how Texas’ massive planned power lines would change residents’ way of life.
Erath County residents load onto a charter bus that will take them to the State Capitol in Austin to testify at a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting on the proposed 765-kV transmission line route and data centers and on Wednesday morning in Stephenville, Aug. 19, 2026. Somerville residents Laura and Brian Crawford sit in the front row of the bus.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
The last time was for a state Senate committee hearing on July 29, which prompted some state lawmakers to call on the Public Utilities Commission of Texas to deny pending applications from transmission utilities until the approval process could be improved.
Article continues below this ad
That gave a renewed sense of hope and optimism going into Wednesday’s hearing, Trinque said.
“I can’t give up at what could be the very end,” he said.
Throughout a mostly dark ride, the bus picked up about 20 people from stops at 4 a.m. in Granbury, 4:30 a.m. in Stephenville and 6 a.m. in Lampasas. They arrived at the John H. Reagan State Office Building in Austin by 7:30 a.m.
More than 100 people testified throughout the 12-hour hearing, alternating between panels of experts invited to speak and members of the public who signed up.
Erath county resident Lance Trinque reads his testimony ahead of a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Since the first half of the hearing was dedicated to data centers, those attending for the 765-kV discussion found ways to keep occupied.
Some took part in a “Press Pause on 765-kV Transmission Lines and Data Centers” rally on the south steps of the Capitol. Willie Nelson’s daughter, Amy Nelson, was one of the keynote speakers. She read a letter from her father to a crowd of people donning yellow bandanas that said, “Don’t Ruin Texas.”
Others visited their local representatives’ offices to practice their speeches and print out copies of their testimony.
Related: ‘Technology is a hurdle’: Rural Texans push through 765-kV transmission line hearing
Many found seats in overflow rooms to watch the livestreamed proceedings on small TVs or lingered in the hallways and lobbies, socializing and exchanging stories with people in similar situations.
Once the clock struck 2 p.m., people in attendance for the data center portion of the day departed and all attention turned to the 765-kV.
As the hours passed, landowners, including country music legend Tanya Tucker, doubled down on how they felt the swift regulatory process placed a burden on them. They pleaded with lawmakers to stop the project completely or, at a minimum, wait until the Legislature can take another look at the administrative process.
Committee chairman Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, asked clarifying questions and signaled he thought the process needed to be reevaluated.
Debi Lee watches Brian Crawford testify at House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting against a proposed data center from a television in a lounge at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Other committee members appeared to be in agreement, including Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, who has previously said the transmission expansion is necessary for a more reliable and efficient grid decades into the future.
“When it was brought to me, the 180 days was suggested, and it was suggested based on the Permian Basin Reliability Plan,” Darby said. “Not y’all deciding that we’ve got to run lines all the way across the state. So that’s where the 180 days came from, and I agree. I think we need to relook at that.”
Energy industry leaders warned that halting the transmission projects could impact new power generation being built and hinder growth.
Regulators also said delaying the project could create other issues. PUCT Chairman Thomas Gleeson said ERCOT projected Far West Texas could see rotating power outages as early as next summer.
“Every day that we don’t make a decision on building transmission just exacerbates that issue,” Gleeson said.
Bonnie Terrell, Emily Martin Howle and Brandon Huckabee, Erath County Judge, testify against a proposed 765kv transmission line route at a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
Many left out of testimony
As the 8 p.m. cutoff loomed, people wondered if the hearing would be extended. Some were hopeful; many were not.
Shelley McAfee, board member for the Edwards Plateau Alliance, offered one of the final public testimonies of the night.
Her remarks began like the many before her, listing reasons why the transmission route applications should be denied. Then, she aired her grievances about how the hearing was handled.
It was unfair, she said, that officials and businesspeople who could profit off the multibillion-dollar project got unlimited talk time but “the experienced people who are sacrificing everything to bring factual information and perspectives to you … get two minutes.”
People watching in different rooms applauded.
“We don’t need God to bless Texas,” McAfee concluded. “We need God to save Texas. This is happening on your watch.”
“Amen,” someone shouted from the crowd.
Related: ‘Send it somewhere else’: Locals decry proposed transmission lines near Dinosaur Valley
As King called the final panel of the day at 7:58 p.m., the irritation became audible. People griped as they stood up to return home with nothing to show for the effort they’d put in to show up and have their voice heard.
King tried to reassure them.
“This is not the last discussion,” he said. “This will carry on and you have been heard. If you did not testify, please remember the public portal comment is open until 5 p.m. Friday.”
The bus riders headed for the doors, not wanting to stay in Austin any longer than necessary. They loaded up, and one woman looked around, “No one on this bus got to testify about the 765-kV, did they?”
They silently shook their heads then sunk into their seats for the three-hour return trip home.
A charter bus picks up county residents in front of the State Capitol building after a 12 hour long House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting on data centers and 765kV transmission lines in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.
Angela Piazza/The Dallas Morning News
This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative supported by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Lisa and Charles Siegel, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.