STEPHENVILLE\/AUSTIN \u2014 By the time the state troopers got to the doors Wednesday night, the room was already emptying.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The people inside weren\u2019t actually ready for the meeting to end.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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\u00a0Stephenville, Aug. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
People sign up to testify at a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
No 765-kV transmission line buttons sit on a table in a lounge at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
State Rep. Shelby Slawson\u2019s office in the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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\u00a0Stephenville, Aug. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
People sign up to testify at a House of Representative State Affairs committee meeting at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
No 765-kV transmission line buttons sit on a table in a lounge at the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
State Rep. Shelby Slawson\u2019s office in the State Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
But, like many other times during this process, they knew the choice wasn\u2019t theirs to make.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
The landowners, many from across the state<\/a> 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\u2019 State Affairs Committee hearing.<\/p>\n Dozens of them sat through the 12-hour hearing waiting for their name to be called to testify but weren\u2019t acknowledged because time ran out.<\/p>\n They left defeated, disappointed and upset with a system they felt had wronged them<\/a> repeatedly this past year.<\/p>\n One group of landowners said Wednesday was a tough lesson of how hard it is for ordinary Texans to participate in their state\u2019s democracy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt definitely didn\u2019t give me the warm and fuzzies,\u201d Erath County resident Jimmie Fair said. \u201cIt\u2019s disheartening to come all this way to not get the chance to talk. This is our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Related: ‘People just need opportunity.’ How Texas neighbors came together to fight a 765kV power line<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Last year, hundreds of Texans were notified the state was planning to build a 1,200-mile, multibillion-dollar 765-kilovolt transmission project<\/a> to carry energy to the Permian Basin, and it may need to cut through their property.<\/p>\n ERCOT, the state\u2019s grid operator, referred to the project as creating an electricity \u201csuperhighway.\u201d Others have likened the proposed mappings as spiderwebs engulfing Texas.<\/p>\n Power lines as large as 765-kilovolt don\u2019t yet exist in Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this process, landowners are expected to understand complex administrative law and legal procedures and follow a grueling timeline,\u201d Bonnie Terrell, whose 83-year-old ranch would be impacted, testified at the hearing. \u201cThey 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n \u2018What could be the very end\u2019<\/p>\n Before the sun rose Wednesday, pickups and SUVs pulled into the parking lot near Stephenville\u2019s town square.<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some people wore matching navy \u201cStronger Together\u201d T-shirts and yellow \u201cNo 765kV transmission\u201d pins.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Lance Trinque, who lives along the Paluxy River, wore both along with his straw cowboy hat.<\/p>\n His most important accessory, however, may have been the worn black binder in his hands labeled \u201cpower line.\u201d Inside, it held what he hoped to tell lawmakers to persuade them not to approve the 765-kV on his land.<\/p>\n 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\u2019 massive planned power lines would change residents\u2019 way of life.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n 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<\/a> from transmission utilities until the approval process could be improved.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n That gave a renewed sense of hope and optimism going into Wednesday\u2019s hearing, Trinque said.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t give up at what could be the very end,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Since the first half of the hearing was dedicated to data centers, those attending for the 765-kV discussion found ways to keep occupied. \u00a0<\/p>\n Some took part in a \u201cPress Pause on 765-kV Transmission Lines and Data Centers\u201d rally on the south steps of the Capitol. Willie Nelson\u2019s 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, \u201cDon\u2019t Ruin Texas.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Others visited their local representatives\u2019 offices to practice their speeches and print out copies of their testimony.<\/p>\n Related: \u2018Technology is a hurdle\u2019: Rural Texans push through 765-kV transmission line hearing<\/a><\/p>\n Many found seats in overflow rooms to watch the\u00a0livestreamed proceedings on small TVs or lingered in the hallways and lobbies, socializing and exchanging stories with people in similar situations.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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