the state electric grid monitor has warned that region<\/a> could face rotating outages, even without the additional of new data centers.<\/p>\n\u00a0\u201cThe consequences of not getting this right are catastrophic,\u201d Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil & Gas Association, told lawmakers at the same hearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tucker, like others who testified in Austin, said they understand Texas needs more power and want what is good for the state, but are concerned about how fast the process has been moving. They said\u00a0landowners sometimes have had\u00a0to find lawyers within days as they scramble to protect their land. Others say they\u2019ve been cut out of the process entirely, even as the project would mean putting the lines through their land.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think we need more time to process what is happening to us,\u201d said Tucker, who lives in Burnet County, just northwest of Austin. \u201cThey threatened a 140-year-old multi-generational ranch where I live. They threaten the lives and livelihood of thousands of other Texans who cannot be here and cannot be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the second time Tucker has testified before the Legislature on the issue this summer. Last month, she raised her concerns\u00a0before the Texas Senate. Her comments, and those of other landowners, have touched a nerve with lawmakers, some of whom are now calling on the Public Utility Commission to reject the transmission line proposals\u00a0so the Legislature can have time to change the way the process works for landowners. The PUC could decide next month whether to move ahead with the project.<\/p>\n
While the PUC holds the key to the next steps, it was the Legislature in 2023 that passed the laws that now require the PUC to complete the transmission line approval process in 180 days \u2014 half the time it used to take.<\/p>\n
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who oversees the Texas Senate, is among those who said after the hearing last month the system needs to be revised.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe testimony made it abundantly clear the current process being utilized by the PUC for proposing and approving transmission lines is broken and must be reformed,\u201d Patrick said last month<\/a>. \u201cIf these lines are going to be built, which many believe must be built, then the PUC\u2019s transmission approval process must not only prioritize strengthening the grid, but also protect Texas landowners and communities.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In between tour stops in Calgary and Minnesota, country music star Tanya Tucker made a detour to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412851,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-412850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}