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).
In the letter, Sen. Fraser told Chairman Smitherman that he has been contacted by “numerous constituents with concerns about placement of these [CREZ] lines.” He also said that he understands “that Texas needs these lines to keep up with the growing demands for power and to help alleviate congestion issues.”
Sen. Fraser referred to the Commission’s June 30, 2009, Open Meeting at which it “adopted a policy to ask CREZ line applicants to, at the largest extent possible, use existing rights of ways and state highway right of ways when proposing the lines.” Sen. Fraser stated that he endorses this policy and asked that Chairman Smitherman move forward in instructing the CREZ line applicants to use the existing rights of ways and paths of least resistance in order to protect personal property rights.
Sen. Fraser also urged Chairman Smitherman to consider the use of monopoles where possible in and around populated areas to reduce the visual impact of transmission lines.
The explicit requirements for the Commission’s approval of transmission lines (PURA Sec. 37.056(c)) do not reference the routing of transmission lines along existing routes. PUC Subst. R. 25.101(b)(3)(B), however, does require the following factors to be considered in the selection of a utility’s preferred and alternate routes unless a route is agreed to by the utility, landowners whose property is crossed by the line and owners of habitable structures near the proposed line:
(1) whether the routes utilize existing compatible rights-of-way, including the use of vacant positions on existing multiple-circuit transmission lines;
(2) whether the routes parallel existing compatible rights-of-way;
(3) whether the routes parallel property lines or other natural or cultural features; and
(4) whether the routes conform with the policy of prudent avoidance.
In addition to being the Chairman of the Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee, Sen. Fraser is a nationally-recognized legislator who influences electric utility issues. The American Legislative Exchange Council, a group that describes itself as a nonpartisan membership organization of state legislators that favors federalism and conservative public policy solutions, named Sen. Fraser the top legislator in the nation in 2006 as a result of his legislation in the areas of telecommunications, electricity deregulation, and developing renewable energy.
The influence of Sen. Fraser’s opinion, when added to the Commission’s policy decision at its June 30th Open Meeting, makes it more likely that CCN applicants will identify as their preferred CREZ transmission routes those routes that use existing and state highway rights-of-ways.