Texas regulators are facing renewed scrutiny over a multibillion-dollar effort designed to expand electricity delivery to West Texas, where oil and gas operations rely on a steady power supply to run equipment such as compressors and pumps. The dispute, reported March 13, centers on routes and timing tied to the Permian Basin Reliability Plan and especially a proposed major transmission line at 765 kilovolts through the Texas Hill Country.
Industry trade groups and power-grid advocates say the region needs added transmission capacity to keep pace with soaring Permian output and prevent a bottleneck. Ben Shepperd, president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, said Texas must develop the projects “in a timely fashion” and warned that the “greatest risk of failure for the Permian Basin Reliability Plan is for these necessary projects to falter under any sort of delay.”
The Permian Basin Reliability Plan is backed by industry, according to the reporting, and is described as costing upward of $13 billion. The plan is in what some observers characterized as the final stages of administrative review and public input before construction could begin as soon as next year.
Opponents, including landowner and conservative-aligned groups, are urging regulators to slow down and revise parts of the plan. They argue construction along rivers and other beloved landscapes would damage the environment and push up costs for ratepayers, and they say the appropriate response is for regulators to revisit their choices rather than proceed on the existing track.
Jada Jo Smith, president of the Hill Country Preservation Coalition, said the need for reliability is understood but that the process should be handled carefully. “We’re not saying we don’t understand it needs to happen, we’re just saying do it the right way. The process needs to be carefully thought out,” she said. She also said the coalition’s membership includes 48,000 people and argued the proposed routes threaten areas tied to rivers for summer livelihoods and hunting in winter.
On the other side, industry representatives say the transmission buildout has to move quickly because demand has outpaced construction for years. The Texas Oil and Gas Association, a statewide trade group whose membership makes up roughly 90% of the state’s crude oil and natural gas market, wrote to regulators that “And a reliable electricity supply is crucial to sustaining this industry.”
A central element of the dispute is a set of planned high-voltage transmission projects that regulators say would connect the Permian Basin to the broader Texas grid. The utility commission partially approved an Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, proposal to build or improve 260 transmission lines across Texas by 2038, including three major transmission lines described as import paths, one of which would move electricity from east to west. Those lines are described as 765 kV lines and said to be able to carry more electricity than any other line currently in Texas, with a projected cost of nearly $14 billion expected to be covered by ratepayers.
State Rep. Charlie Geren, the Fort Worth Republican who wrote the bill, urged regulators not to delay implementation over debates about higher-voltage approaches. In a 2024 letter to the utility commission, he wrote that it is his “legislative intent that HB 5066 be fully implemented and should not be held up or delayed by the discussion of higher voltage lines for the state.” The reporting said Geren did not respond to an interview request.
While the utility commission has greenlit most of the 260 proposed projects, it had not fully approved 33 of the largest and most controversial proposals as of the reporting. The reporting said the six companies that proposed the projects still require a final stamp of approval, a step that includes public input.
The push for reconsideration has also drawn attention from additional lawmakers. At least five lawmakers whose districts would see the transmission line pass through wrote to the utility commission in January asking regulators to reevaluate their plans. The letter, as quoted in the report, said: “Given the magnitude of this project, we believe additional time is necessary to fully evaluate the most responsible path and consider new transmission route links that will avoid pristine river basins, minimize land fragmentation, reduce ecological harm, protect sensitive water resources, and ensure meaningful public engagement.”
State Rep. Eddie Morales, a Democrat representing the Devils River State Natural Area in Val Verde County, urged the commission to reject a possible proposed line through that region. In a statement to The Texas Tribune, he said, “This line will be built, and Texas will benefit from it,” while adding, “However, I am urging the PUC to recognize the importance of preserving this pristine landscape and reject the possibility of a proposed line to cut through this region.” The other lawmakers referenced in the reporting did not respond to interview requests.
Conservative policy advocates have argued that some studies supporting rapid transmission expansion rely on uncertain assumptions about when demand will materialize. Brent Bennett, a policy director at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, said data centers are a factor driving up demand and argued that the demand evidence includes speculation. He said: “I think eventually, if the demand comes, we’re going to need them,” but questioned “how soon do we have to build them?” and whether the projects could be done “in a more phased, less disruptive manner?”
The Public Utility Commission of Texas said it had received four applications for 765 kV projects, according to the reporting. The commission said it has 180 days from the date the applications are filed to approve, modify or deny them, and that the process includes legal proceedings before the State Office of Administrative Hearings. In a statement, the utility commission spokesperson said its Office of Public Engagement attended public meetings, held informational briefings with state legislators, and fielded over 135 calls from consumers, while saying transmission service providers conduct much of the public outreach and have hosted open houses.