The sun sets behind long-distance transmission lines in February in Hurst.
Elias Valverde II/Dallas Morning News
The House Committee on State Affairs holds a hearing regarding data centers and the 765-kilovolt line Aug. 19 at the John H. Reagan building in Austin.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Pushback against the state’s largest-ever transmission lines is gaining traction, as a group of Texas House members called for the Public Utility Commission to pause the project until reforms can be made in the next legislative session.
The lawmakers filed the request for a delay less than an hour before the commission’s meeting on applications for projects under the $33 billion Permian Basin Reliability Plan.
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The plan calls for building three new 765-kilovolt transmission lines to help ensure there’s enough reliable power to meet demand in the energy-rich Permian Basin. But it has sparked outrage from Texans over what they see as largely unbridled industrial development. That pushback has the same lawmakers who in 2023 passed a measure calling for a reliability plan now questioning the project.
“We agree that Texas’ growth and continued prosperity require a reliable electric grid, and that a reliable grid depends on both increased generation and transmission,” the letter reads. “We are prepared to work toward solutions that yield both in the 90th Legislative session.”
READ MORE: Texas leaders warn of ‘catastrophic’ effects from pausing plan for massive power lines
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The letter, which was signed by 31 Texas House members, was filed with the PUC two days after a House committee meeting on the transmission line project. More people signed up to speak during public comment than could be heard in the allotted time.
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PUC delays action on transmission line
On Friday, the PUC put off taking any action on the applications for the 765-kilovolt transmission line being built by Oncor in North Texas. Instead, the state regulatory agency said it will take time to deliberate the Dinosaur to Longshore line before bringing it up for discussion at a later meeting.
The PUC is scheduled to discuss the two remaining 765-kilovolt line projects, including the Howard Solstice Line that would stretch from San Antonio through the Hill Country to Fort Stockton, next Friday. The high-voltage lines are all part of the reliability plan that was a result of House Bill 5066.
That legislation aimed to get ahead of the surge in energy demand that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas forecast could quadruple by 2032. That effort included shortening the deadline for the PUC to approve or deny applications for new transmission projects from one year to 180 days to help meet the rapidly growing energy demand the state faces.
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But House members argued in the letter that “the bill did not contemplate 765-kilovolt lines and the 180-day timeline in the bill was never intended for projects running transmission lines all across the state.”
RELATED:Texas lawmakers turn against massive power lines they ordered after outcry
Now, Texas representatives are saying that there were “multiple failures of due process” that threaten landowners’ property rights and are asking the PUC to deny all Certificate of Convenience and Necessity applications, which utilities file to build a new line, related to the proposed 765-kilovolt projects.
Lawmakers seek changes to approval process
The call to pause the project echoes a stance that Sen. Charles Schwertner took last month after a 15-hour Senate Committee on Business and Commerce hearing.
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Schwertner, who chairs the committee, said the process, lack of proper notice from utilities and shortened timelines for PUC proceedings and due process at the State Office of Administrative Hearings, all raised “significant concerns.”
He called on the state regulatory agency to deny existing applications and allow for the process to be reformed in the next legislative session “to ensure future projects are fair and transparent,” Schwertner posted on X.
PUC officials, representatives of manufacturers and energy industry leaders warned at the Wednesday hearing held by the House Committee on State Affairs that delaying the project could be “catastrophic” for the Permian Basin, which, despite being an energy-rich area, is threatened by inadequate power supply.
READ MORE:This project promises power grid reliability for Texas. Hill Country residents aren’t happy.
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“Every day we don’t make a decision on building transmission just exacerbates that issue,” PUC Chair Thomas Gleeson told the House committee.
The state regulatory agency warned lawmakers about the risk of rising outages in West Texas if the transmission lines weren’t built.
“The consequences of not getting this right are catastrophic,” said Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil & Gas Association. He reminded lawmakers that operations in the Permian Basin shut down when they lost power during the 2021 winter storm because they were not classified as critical infrastructure.
But thousands of affected landowners have pushed back, with many saying the 180-day timeline for the PUC to approve or deny an application is inadequate.
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A representative from the Office of Public Utility Counsel said Friday that the “largest obstacle” for the residential customers and small businesses that it represents was the “compressed timeline.”
“Given the number of parties, complex issues and filed documents involved, 180 days makes it incredibly difficult to fully litigate the issues at stake,” she said.