In an apparent acknowledgement of the increasing political impact of the proposed LCRA CREZ transmission lines, Sen. Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) sent PUC Chairman Barry Smitherman a letter commenting on the placement of transmission lines in his Senate district, which includes the Texas Hill Country communities of Junction, Mason, Llano, Fredericksburg, and Kerrville. (District Map). […]
Texas Power Lines Posts
PUC Issues CREZ Transmission Line Applications Sequencing Order
On August 13, 2009, the Public Utility Commission of Texas issued an Order approving a settlement agreement regarding the sequencing of filing of CCN applications for CREZ transmission line cases. The Commission’s Order on Rehearing in Docket No. 35665 required the parties to file a jointly-proposed sequencing agreement 30 days after ERCOT filed its analysis […]
SPS Files CCN Application for Wheeler County
PUC Docket No. 37260 Southwestern Public Service Company (“SPS”) d/b/a Xcel Energy filed its application on July 21, 2009, requesting approval to construct a proposed 115 kV transmission line in Wheeler County, Texas. The application originally was filed on April 7, 2009, but SPS discovered that the proposed Wheeler substation site was in an area that […]
Oncor Files CCN Application for Collin County
Docket No. 37232 On August 7, 2009, Oncor Electric Delivery Company filed an application for approval of a new 138 kV double-circuit transmission line to be built in Collin County, Texas. The proposed transmission line would connect the new Oncor Parker Maxwell Creek substation located east of the City of Parker to the existing Allen […]
Chairman Smitherman Changes Form Letter to Landowners in LCRA CREZ Area
Chairman Smitherman has been filing responses in Docket No. 37049 to the letters he has received from landowners regarding the LCRA CREZ transmission lines. Most of those letters have been summaries of the statutory CCN approval guidelines and the PUC’s rules for location of the proposed lines. He added a handwritten note to one letter, […]
AEP Files CCN Application for Childress County
Docket No. 37248 On July 24, 2009, AEP North Texas Company (AEP) filed an application for approval of a 69/138 kV transmission line in Childress County, Texas. The intervention deadline for this project is September 7, 2009. The proposed transmission line would extend from the Brazos Electric Henry Substation to the existing Childress 20th Street […]
Landowners Concerned About LCRA’s Hill Country CREZ Lines
The Austin American-Statesman published an “above-the fold” front page story about the conflicts associated with transmission lines in the Texas Hill Country. The article focuses on several landowners who are banding together to oppose transmission lines that are proposed to be built by the Lower Colorado River Authority (“LCRA”). The transmission lines are part of a new project […]
ETT Files CCN Application for 138 kV Transmission Line in Uvalde and Medina Counties
PUC Docket No. 36978 Electric Transmission Texas LLC (“ETT”) filed its application on July 10, 2009, requesting approval to construct a proposed 138 kV transmission line in Uvalde and Medina Counties, Texas. The project will be located between Uvalde and Castroville and will require approximately 70 miles of new circuits. It is estimated to be energized in […]
Save Our Scenic Hill Country Environment Files Comments on LCRA CREZ Lines
On July 8th, Texas PUC Chairman Smitherman filed his response to a letter from William Renfro, the Vice President/Director of Save Our Scenic Hill Country Environment, Inc. (SOS Hill Country) a group that was formed in response to wind energy development activity in Gillespie County and surrounding counties. Mr. Refro’s letter requests that Chairman Smitherman take the leadership […]
PUC Opens Several More CREZ Transmission Line Comments Dockets
On June 23, 2009, the Public Utility Commission of Texas opened six more dockets to file comments received on proposed CREZ transmission line projects. Wind Energy Transmission Texas (WETT) Comments Docket South Texas Electric Cooperative (STEC) Comments Docket Sharyland Utilities Comments Docket Lone Star Transmission, LLC Comments Docket Electric Transmission Texas, LLC (ETT) Comments Docket […]