A group of five Central Texas legislators sent a letter to the Public Utility Commission (PUC) on May 5, requesting a meeting to discuss their concerns with a proposed high-voltage transmission line in Bell County. The project is part of a larger initiative to move electricity to multiple locations across the state.
The lawmakers—State Senator Pete Flores and Representatives Brad Buckley, Drew Darby, Hillary Hickland, and Ellen Troxclair—are requesting a pause on the project, arguing it exceeds the legislative intent of the Permian Basin Reliability Plan established in 2023.
According to the letter, the proposed transmission line is part of a “monumental” $33 billion state infrastructure buildout designed to transport electricity to the Permian Basin to support oil and gas electrification, cryptocurrency mining, and data centers.
Instead, the legislators want the state to prioritize the generation of energy locally within the Permian Basin from readily-available gas and oil. They contend that these “dispatchable” sources would provide greater long-term grid reliability, and would eliminate the need to for large-scale import transmission projects.
The project has sparked opposition from some landowners in Bell, Burnet, and San Saba counties, who, according to opponents of the project, will be required to provide land easements for 15-to-18-story transmission towers. Each easement would extend for miles across private properties, and require a width of 200-to-300-feet.
In their letter to PUC Chairman Thomas Gleeson, the legislators cited a December 2024 sequencing recommendation from ERCOT, which indicated that only two of the three proposed 765kV “Import Paths” are necessary by 2030. They argue that increasing transmission capacity without a corresponding increase in dispatchable energy generation fails to address the grid weaknesses identified following Winter Storm Uri. The lawmakers say that transmission projects favoring renewable energy imports do not solve the current imbalance in Texas’ generation mix.
The Bell County East to Big Hill project, developed by Oncor and LCRA Transmission Services Corporation, has also faced legal interventions, with 280 parties contesting the line as of late April.
Residents in Salado and other affected communities have expressed anxiety over eminent domain seizures and the potential degradation of their property values. Local leaders in Bell County have also urged state regulators to move public hearings closer to the affected landowners to ensure “meaningful opportunity” for participation.
With the 90th Legislative Session approaching, the lawmakers emphasized the need for a “thoughtful and deliberate” policy review before making long-term decisions that could permanently impact thousands of Texas families and their property rights.
“Texans deserve a more thoughtful and deliberate approach to improving existing infrastructure, one that enhances reliability and resilience, reduces costs, and better protects private property rights,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.