In the shadow of lawmakers and landowners calling for a full-stop until after the 2027 legislative session, Public Utility Commissioner Chairman Thomas Gleeson has scheduled an August 14 meeting to discuss three proposed 765-kilovolt transmission lines. Scheduled meetings on the northern and middle lines no longer appear on the PUCT schedule.
These lines make up the 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. A pro-landowner group likened this project “to hauling water to the sea.” Lifetime costs for the project reportedly approach $100 billion, to be borne by ratepayers.
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. Critics have argued that PUCT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and electricity delivery company Oncor transformed a regional reliability directive into a de facto statewide 765‑kV grid plan without an explicit vote by state lawmakers.
In an August 6 memo to his fellow PUCT commissioners, Gleeson set an August 14 meeting “to discuss policy issues with my fellow Commissioners and ERCOT related to the development and implementation of the Permian Basin Reliability Plan, including the three 765-kilovolt (kV) import paths required under that plan.”
“No final decisions will be made regarding any individual transmission line at this open meeting,” he wrote. “Before the Commission can make a final decision in each case, a proposal for decision must properly be before the Commission for consideration at a future open meeting and the parties in each case have an opportunity to present oral argument to the Commission.”
Gleeson’s decision comes after he admitted at a July 29 marathon state senate committee hearing that PUCT had pursued the 765-kV project without an explicit vote by lawmakers.
After impacted landowners cried out for help at this hearing, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and State Sen. Charles Schwertner (R–Georgetown) called for PUCT to deny all pending applications until after lawmakers have reformed the approval process.
Before his August 6 memo, PUCT had scheduled a discussion on the northern and middle STEP-Permian lines on August 28, September 25, and October 2. Since Gleeson’s memo, these no longer appear on the PUCT schedule.
“We generally do not post agendas until they are final, and agendas for those dates have not been finalized. Meetings and agendas are not finalized and are always subject to change until officially posted with the Secretary of State,” PUCT spokesperson Rich Parsons wrote.
The August 14 meeting will start at 9:30 am in the commissioners’ hearing room, with time set aside for public comment “except for pending items related to contested cases.” Parsons explained how citizens concerned about the controversial transmission line project may participate.
“The PUCT encourages public participation in agency processes. A member of the public who wishes to provide public comment at an open meeting must avoid speaking about specific contested cases. This means a public commenter may speak generally about 765-kV lines, but not the specific cases before the PUCT,” he wrote.
The second phase of this controversial project is already spinning up. The ERCOT board approved 765-kV lines in western and eastern Texas in December 2025. One of the companies pushing a segment of the eastern line expects to file an application with PUCT in early 2027.
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed all five PUCT commissioners.
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows announced that the Committee on State Affairs will hold an August 19 interim hearing on the proposed lines, one day before PUCT’s next regularly scheduled meeting on August 20.
