This article has been updated since publication.
After initially adding time to consider them, Texas Public Utility Commissioners decided not to take up rehearing motions on a 765-kilovolt transmission line they had approved. According to an attorney, as of now the approval of the line is set to become final.
This concerns electricity delivery company Oncor’s Dinosaur to Drill Hole 765-kV line. Made up of two segments, Dinosaur to Longshore and Longshore to Drill Hole, it would span approximately 390 miles from near Glen Rose to near the Culberson-Reeves county line.
This project is part of the Strategic Transmission Expansion Plan (STEP) Permian, a key part of the Permian Basin Reliability Plan (PBRP). STEP Permian proposes three 765-kV transmission lines spanning more than 1,200 miles to move electricity from East Texas to the natural gas-rich Permian Basin. Dinosaur to Drill Hole is the northern line.
On November 12, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) published two memos, announcing that commissioners had voted not to add rehearing motions in the Dinosaur to Longshore and Longshore to Drill Hole segment cases “to any open meeting agenda.”
PUCT did not respond before publication when asked for a record of the commissioners’ vote. Commissioners originally approved the line on August 28, despite calls from lawmakers and impacted landowners to pause until after the 2027 legislative session.
After approval, multiple parties filed rehearing motions in both segments. On October 15, commissioners voted to extend time to 100 days after the original approval date, “the maximum extent allowed by law,” to consider those motions.
Regarding PUCT’s November 12 decision, attorney Connor Ellington of the Law Offices of Tony McDonald wrote, “PUCT has effectively said it’s not going to reconsider its orders. By declining to put the rehearing requests on its agenda, PUCT is letting them expire. At that point, its approval will become final and anyone who wants to continue fighting the line will have to take the issue to court in Austin.”
PUCT’s decision comes nine days after statewide Republicans were swept from office, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who had said he was “very disappointed” in PUCT approving the line after lawmakers said to stop.
There are two more STEP Permian 765-kV lines. On November 5, PUCT extended time to consider rehearing motions on AEP Texas and CPS Energy’s Howard to Solstice line.
The third line, composed of two segments from Oncor and the Lower Colorado River Authority Transmission Services Corporation, is in a holding pattern after PUCT remanded the Bell County East to Big Hill segment to the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
STEP Permian is only the first stage. An eastern backbone of 765-kV transmission lines makes up the next phase, with a potential final buildout that would tap into the wind- and solar-energy-rich Panhandle region.
CenterPoint Energy and AEP Texas have already held open houses for the Hillje to Blu Lacy Transmission Improvement Project, which is part of the eastern backbone. If PUCT approves it, the line would stretch 155 miles from Wharton County to Nueces County. CenterPoint Energy has promised to hold a second round of open houses. AEP Texas has yet to announce the new dates for open houses planned in August it rescheduled.
Oncor spokesperson Andrew Clark wrote to Texas Scorecard that “Oncor appreciates the Commissioners’ thoughtful review of these projects and is continuing to engage with landowners along the projects’ approved routes.”
