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The big news out of Austin this week is not a new tax or a shiny subsidy. It’s a groundswell of angry Texas landowners and a clear political backlash after a marathon Senate Business & Commerce hearing that put the spotlight on proposed 765 kV transmission lines and the way the state’s permitting process has been run. Lawmakers who once cheered the plan are now calling for a pause and a full fix to how the Public Utility Commission and ERCOT handle property rights and notice.
Lawmakers Hit the Brakes
State Senator Charles Schwertner, Senator Kevin Sparks and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick all publicly said the permitting process for the Permian Basin Reliability Plan needs to stop until it’s reformed. That’s a pretty big turn for folks who support grid reliability. The change came after hours of two‑minute testimonies from hundreds of landowners, plus formal motions asking the PUC to pause contested CCN dockets tied to the 765 kV build‑out. In short: people who actually own the land are fed up, and elected officials listened — finally.
Landowners Say They Were Left in the Dark
Across multiple dockets, landowners say they weren’t properly notified when routes changed and that the process was rushed. One Salado landowner summed it up bluntly: “I was notified of this project after the application was already filed and after earlier public meetings had taken place… I’ve been forced to navigate a complex legal process without any legal representation,” he told regulators. That is not a technicality — it’s a basic fairness problem when eminent domain and private property are on the table.
Notice, Route Changes, Due Process
Hundreds of protests and motions to pause have flooded the PUC dockets, with landowners arguing they were given no meaningful chance to contest routes or get counsel. Transmission companies counter that outreach happened and route tweaks responded to comments. Fine. But outreach isn’t the same as consent, and route changes after the fact are a recipe for legal fights and bad blood in rural Texas. If the PUC keeps steamrolling CCNs while people are still fighting for notice, it invites lasting damage to property rights and trust.
Real Fixes: Less Band‑Aids, More Power
No one serious disputes that Texas needs more reliable power and smarter transmission planning. But the 765 kV lines are being sold as the only answer, when other options exist. Experts have argued building more reliable, energy‑dense generation—like natural gas and nuclear—closer to demand centers would reduce the need to haul power hundreds of miles. And if ERCOT and the PUC keep rewarding diffuse wind and solar without fixing market signals, the state will keep patching problems instead of solving them.
Pause, Reform, Protect Property Rights
The right next step is obvious: pause contested CCN decisions until notice, route transparency, and due‑process rules are fixed. Let regulators and the Legislature work together to reform the CCN process so Texans aren’t steamrolled. If the goal is keeping lights on, do it without trampling property rights or foisting multi‑billion dollar corridors on unwilling landowners. Lawmakers have signaled they’ll act — and they should. Texans will accept sensible transmission when it’s planned fairly and honestly, not when it’s railroaded through at someone else’s expense.
