Texas Landowners Push to Halt $2B Permian Basin Transmission Line Over Notice Failures
According to Utility Dive, several hundred Central Texas property owners have petitioned the Public Utility Commission of Texas to pause its review of a proposed $2 billion, 765-kV transmission line, alleging they were not properly notified of public meetings or route changes that placed their land within the project’s footprint.
The Dispute and What’s at Stake
The project in question is the Bell County East to Big Hill 765-kV Transmission Line, a high-voltage buildout tied to ERCOT’s Permian Basin reliability planning. Oncor Electric Delivery and the Lower Colorado River Authority are the utilities behind the proposal, which is designed to address projected load growth in West Texas.
In a May 26 motion, landowners stated that “over 1,300 directly affected property owners were denied the essential right to attend a public meeting where they could voice their concerns.” In interim briefs filed more recently, landowners argued Oncor and LCRA had not demonstrated a concrete need for roughly 400 miles of new route segments, and challenged the adequacy of community-impact analysis and ownership records.
Salado landowner John Burrow said he was notified only after the application was already filed and earlier public meetings had taken place, leaving him to navigate a complex legal process without legal representation.
Oncor countered that it began public meetings in summer 2025 and that landowner feedback drove route modifications. The company maintains the lines are needed for long-term grid reliability, noting that load in West Texas is growing faster than local generation.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Mobilization risk is real. Route-change litigation on a project of this scale can freeze construction starts with little warning. Subcontractors who have priced work or allocated crews based on an assumed timeline could face costly delays.
- Watch the PUCT docket closely. A granted pause extends pre-construction uncertainty, which affects survey crews, right-of-way contractors, and civil crews lined up for early-stage work on the roughly 400 miles of disputed new route segments.
- Contract language matters. If you’re bidding work tied to this project or similar ERCOT-driven transmission builds, ensure your agreements include clear provisions for project suspension, demobilization costs, and schedule relief tied to regulatory holds.
- More disputes likely. With Oncor and LCRA fielding thousands of public comments and route modifications already on record, this project signals a broader pattern: large Texas transmission buildouts are drawing landowner pushback that translates directly into schedule uncertainty for field contractors.
