Did you receive a letter from an electric utility? Did a utility notify you your property may be affected by a high voltage electric transmission line the utility intends to construct in your area? Are you looking for information on what to do now? Ask for my free eBrochure for landowners “What to do if […]
FAQs
Should you intervene?
Are you a Texas landowner concerned about a transmission line proposed to be built near your property? Have you received a letter notifying you that your property may be affected by a new transmission line? Do you want to know your options to protect your rights? Should you intervene? The most important thing! The most […]
Prehearing conference FAQs
In a transmission line case at the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC), the first thing a landowner does is file a request to intervene. The first step in the legal process usually is a prehearing conference. No later than soon after the intervention deadline, the PUC refers the case to the State Office of […]
What Are the PUC’s Criteria for Approving a CCN Application?
Landowners and others involved in transmission line cases before the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) often ask about the standards or criteria for approving a transmission line. The PUC has both statutory and regulatory guidelines that it must follow when it reviews proposed transmission lines. Public Utilities Regulatory Act (PURA) Sec. 37.056(c) establishes the […]
Chairman Smitherman Indicates “No Conclusive Link” Between Health Issues and Exposure to Electric Fields
In a letter to Maria and Alan Palmer, Chairman Smitherman states that the Commission has studied the issue of possible health effects from exposure to magnetic fields related to transmission lines. He says the Commission has concluded there is no conclusive link between potential health issues and exposure to electric and magnetic fields. He states […]
Intervenor Expresses Concern About Effect of EMI on Pacemaker
An intervenor in Docket No. 37248, AEP’s application for a CCN in Childress County, states that the proposed project “would directly affect the ability of the pacemaker to work.” She filed a letter from Biotronik, the manufacturer of her Protos DR/CLS pacemaker. The intervenor lives near a substation and an existing 69 kV transmission line, […]
PUC Provides Less Detailed Responses to Some Commenters
Many of the commenters that submitted comments this summer in PUC Docket Nos. 37049 and 37051 received personal replies from PUC Chairman Smitherman. As discussed in previous entries, Chairman Smitherman has revised his letter over the past few months, starting with a traditional “Thanks for writing, I’m filing your comments in the appropriate comments docket” letter. […]