Administrative law judges on July 24 denied two motions seeking to reopen the record in the disputed Howard-Solstice transmission line case, keeping the proceeding on schedule as they prepare a recommendation for the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
In Orders No. 16 and 17, issued by the State Office of Administrative Hearings, the judges denied a motion to reopen the evidentiary record and a related motion for official notice in the Howard-Solstice transmission line docket.
The rulings leave the evidentiary record closed following four days of testimony held May 19-22. The judges are now expected to issue a proposal for decision, which will recommend whether the Public Utility Commission should approve the transmission line and identify a preferred route. The commission will make the final decision.
The motion to reopen was filed by the Hill Country Preservation Coalition, which opposes the project. AEP Texas and CPS Energy, the utilities seeking to build the line, opposed the request, as did Briscoe Ranch, an intervenor whose property lies near several proposed routes.
On July 24, Briscoe Ranch also filed an objection to what it described as the coalition’s unauthorized reply in support of reopening the record, along with a sur-reply arguing that the motion should be denied.
The proposed Howard-Solstice transmission line would extend approximately 300 miles across 14 counties — Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Crockett, Edwards, Kerr, Kinney, Medina, Pecos, Real, Sutton, Terrell, Uvalde and Val Verde — connecting AEP Texas’ Solstice substation near Fort Stockton with CPS Energy’s Howard substation southwest of San Antonio.
The project is one of several 765-kilovolt transmission lines approved under the Public Utility Commission’s Permian Basin Reliability Plan. According to the utilities, the line is needed to increase transmission capacity, improve grid reliability and accommodate continued growth in the Permian Basin. Opponents argue the project would affect private property and that other alternatives have not been fully considered.
The procedural rulings come days before lawmakers are scheduled to examine many of the same issues. The Texas Senate Committee on Business & Commerce is set to meet July 29 to review electric grid reliability, implementation of Senate Bill 6 and the impacts of proposed 765-kV transmission routes on homes, businesses and landowner rights.
The hearing follows a July 20 letter from state Sen. Kevin Sparks, R-Midland, and state Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, asking the Public Utility Commission to delay a decision on the Howard-Solstice project until after the 2027 legislative session. As previously reported by The Texas Dispatch, the lawmakers argued the commission should wait until legislators have an opportunity to consider additional policy changes affecting large transmission projects and landowner protections.
The judges’ proposal for decision is expected in the coming weeks. Once it is issued, the Public Utility Commission will consider the recommendation before deciding whether to approve the project and which route, if any, will be selected.