This article has been updated since publication.
A government agency quietly removed references to the projected cost of expanding Texas’ controversial 765-kV transmission project after Texas Scorecard reported on its effort to withhold related emails.
In an amended filing with the Texas attorney general, the Lower Colorado River Authority replaced language referencing “estimated costs to expand the scope” of the extra-high-voltage transmission project with a more general description of “technical deliberations” among grid operators.
Texans are currently facing the 765-kV Strategic Transmission Expansion Plan (STEP) Permian, a key part of the Permian Basin Reliability Plan (PBRP). STEP Permian proposes three transmission lines spanning more than 1,200 miles to move power from East Texas to the natural gas-rich Permian Basin, with lifetime costs reportedly approaching $100 billion to be borne by ratepayers. A pro-landowner group likened this project “to hauling water to the sea.”
The three proposed lines are split into five interconnected segments that would cross North, Central, and South Texas. The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) must approve each segment.
As previously reported, the Lower Colorado River Authority Transmission Services Corporation has partnered with Oncor on two segments of this project that would cut across more than 380 miles from just north of Austin to about six miles northeast of Pecos.
When Texas Scorecard sent a Public Information Act request to LCRA for its communications with 765-kV transmission partners, PUCT, ERCOT, and certain lobbyists, the government agency appealed to the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
LCRA’s extensively redacted brief mentioned emails in March 2025 “regarding estimated costs to expand the scope of the Permian Basian [sic] Reliability Plan 765-kV project,” arguing that these communications “provide specific details regarding the planning, operation, and protection of critical grid infrastructure” and “reveal potential vulnerabilities related to the ERCOT transmission grid.”
Roughly four hours after Texas Scorecard reported this, LCRA filed an amended brief that replaced any mention of the Permian Basin Reliability Plan. Instead, it now states these email communications are “regarding technical deliberations among LCRA, TSPs [Transmission Service Providers] and ERCOT (at ERCOT’s request) to ensure specific critical infrastructure components meet technical grid reliability standards.”
This language matches the statement LCRA provided on August 12 when asked for comment about the original brief.
However, the amended brief retains language from the original that an email dated March 5, 2025 “also depicts deliberations by the 765-kV TSPs in the email discussion regarding [REDACTED].” This is in the section where LCRA Senior Associate General Counsel Vic Ramirez cited the Deliberate Process Exception in state law as justification for seeking to withhold the records. Ramirez cites the same exceptions in the amended brief as in the original.
Critics have argued that PUCT, ERCOT, and Oncor transformed a regional reliability directive into a de facto statewide 765‑kV grid plan without an explicit vote by state lawmakers.
PUCT Chairman Thomas Gleeson admitted in a July state senate committee hearing that lawmakers never mandated the 765-kV project.
“LCRA amended its brief to better characterize the nature of the communications. No expansion of the Permian Basin Reliability Plan is being sought. LCRA remains committed to working with state leadership and stakeholders to meet the needs of Texans,” LCRA spokesperson Clara Tuma wrote when asked about the amended brief.
ERCOT and PUCT, which oversees ERCOT, did not respond to a request for comment on these changes before publication.
In a recent interview on “Real Texans,” State Rep. Brad Buckley (R–Salado) spoke about the transmission project and said, “I think at some point it’s got to be more transparent and that we just need to pause it.”
PUCT, whose commissioners are Gov. Greg Abbott appointees, will discuss the STEP Permian lines on August 14. Gleeson has stated that “no final decisions will be made” on any individual line.
This came after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for PUCT to deny all pending 765-kV applications until after state lawmakers reform the approval process in 2027. Gov. Abbott has since called for “guidelines and guardrails” on transmission line expansion.
State lawmakers created LCRA in 1934. Today, the government agency’s responsibilities include generating and transmitting electricity, managing the lower Colorado River and state parks, and providing water. Gov. Abbott appointed the LCRA’s 15-member board of directors with the Texas Senate’s advice and consent.
LCRA is up for sunset review by state lawmakers in 2034-35. PUCT is up for review in 2028-29.
The STEP Permian lines are just the initial phase of a multiphase project that would result in 765-kV lines—never before built in Texas—crisscrossing the state. The STEP Eastern lines are already spinning up with applications to PUCT expected in early 2027.
If you are a citizen with information regarding bureaucratic overreach, please email scorecardtips@protonmail.com.
