LETTER: $33B Electric Project Not the Best Option

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Editor,

I am writing to share with you and your readership information about the forthcoming 765kV transmission lines, which ultimately will cover the state of Texas and impact just about every aspect of our lives.

The Texas Legislature passed HB 5066, which authorized the PUC to work with ERCOT to develop 3 major transmission lines to extend to the far west Delaware Basin.

The purpose is to provide future power demands to the oil and gas companies and planned data centers. This huge transmission line will cost $33 BILLION dollars.

WE the “Texas Ratepayers” will be footing the bill for the lines by paying increased charges in our utility bills. We will pay not only with our electricity bills, but also with the degradation of our pristine land and water, directly and indirectly.

This is not just about landowners; it is about Texas and Texans. These massive lines will cross open land and wild Texas rivers that nourish all Texas and Texans.

We who live in the path of the transmission line will forfeit our land, our valuations, our sense of “joie de vivre.”

We will be exposed to Electromagnetic Pulses and Geomagnetic Disturbance, unless another $40 Million is spent on protective technology.

Our neighbors, who were not directly informed, nor have the line on their property will experience the same devaluation and risks without any remuneration.

None of the residents along the lines will be the recipients of the power generated by these lines.

There is much appreciation for reliable power but not at the expense of destroying the lands that have provided Texas and beyond with Food, Fiber and Energy for generations.

Instead of constructing power lines to generate power to benefit their industries, why not utilize the millions of MCF of gas that is currently flared off into the atmosphere daily, or the less expensive, safer and more direct microgrids? That would save countless miles of West Texas Landscape.

Remember, we are the ones who will pay the $ 33,000,000,000.

Please pass this information on to one and all, including your state and local representatives.

— Carolyn Quillen for EdwardsPlateauAlliance.org

EDITOR’S NOTE: According to information from the Public Utility Commission, House Bill 5066, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2023, and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, required
the commission to approve an electric reliability plan for the Permian Basin region in support of on-going
expansion and electrification of Texas’ oil and gas industry, and the growing communities of that area.

According to commission, the decision to go with 765 kilovolt transmission lines added and estimated 22 percent to the cost of the project, but officials said the long-term benefits would justify the extra expense.

The Delaware Basin is a below-ground geological sub-basin with prolific oil and gas reserves underlying far West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.