Judges hearing LCRA Transmission Services Corporation’s  application to build a new 345-kilovolt transmission line through the Hill Country held a prehearing conference today (Wednesday) in Austin’s Palmer Events Center. More than 350 intervenors and their representatives attended the prehearing conference and about 100 stayed for the question-and-answer session that followed.

Questions from the public at the later session included several about how LCRA TSC would determine how much to offer landowners for property needed for easements for the transmission line, potential use of a private transmission line, the type of erosion controls and re-vegetation used by LCRA TSC and whether specific features could be avoided in the construction process.

The judges are part of the State Office of Administrative Hearings, which is hearing the case for the Public Utility Commission. LCRA TSC’s application is to amend LCRA TSC’s Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN), which is required before construction can begin on the new transmission line, known as the McCamey D to Kendall to Gillespie project. The line would connect the McCamey D Station, to be constructed north of Eldorado, with stations in Kendall and Gillespie counties, providing more reliability and a new path for wind power to get to market. The three members of the Texas Public Utility Commission have the responsibility to make a decision on LCRA TSC’s application by mid-January.

“We really appreciate everybody who came to the conference today and the thousands of people who have provided valuable input for LCRA TSC,” said Tom Mason, LCRA general manager. “Together we’re looking for the best possible route for this transmission line.”

The line is part of a $4.9 billion effort mandated by the Texas Legislature to allow for reliable and cost-effective delivery of power produced from areas in West Texas and the Panhandle, called Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ), to homes and businesses throughout the state.

Following PUC guidance that the application must include several geographically diverse routes, LCRA TSC presented a preferred route and 59 alternative routes for McCamey D to Kendall, and a preferred route and 14 alternate routes for Kendall to Gillespie, which it believes are all viable possibilities and could be built. Commissioners can select any of those proposed routes or instruct LCRA TSC to construct an alternate route that they devise using route segments included in LCRA TSC’s CCN filing.

Depending on the route chosen, the line from McCamey D to Kendall could be between 129 miles and 166 miles long, while the route from Kendall to Gillespie could range from 28 to 33 miles long. Estimated cost for the preferred route is more than $367 million. 

Counties that could be impacted by this CREZ project include Schleicher, Sutton, Kimble, Kerr, Kendall, Gillespie, Menard and Mason.

“We studied an area as large as some New England states,” said Rebecca A. Klein, chair of the LCRA Board of Directors. “It has been a difficult process both for LCRA TSC and for many residents of the Hill Country, because we studied numerous routes that could impact many landowners.

“I am proud of how LCRA employees have continued to listen to the public,” Klein said.

Project timeline

• Sept. 20, 21, 22 — Settlement conferences to be held at 9 a.m. on Sept. 20 in Eldorado, Schleicher County Civic Center; on Sept. 21 in Junction, Coke R. Stevenson Center; on Sept. 22 in Fredericksburg, Gillespie County Farm Bureau 
• Oct. 25 through Nov. 5 — Hearing on the Merits, location to be determined
• January 2011 — PUC is scheduled to make a decision on the project.
• 2011 — LCRA TSC scheduled to begin real estate transactions preparing the way for construction of the lines.
• 2013 last quarter — Line scheduled to be energized.

Persons with questions about the transmission line can contact Sara Morgenroth, LCRA senior regulatory case manager, at (512) 369-4151, or 800-776-5272, Ext. 4151. For more information, see http://www.lcra.org/crez. Select the individual project for line-specific information.