Fairness has become a concern for neighboring families fighting to protect their homes and land from a revised Texas power-line proposal, according to Texas Monthly.
Roughly 4,200 landowners may still be affected, though every proposed crossing of a billionaire's ranch was eliminated.
Here's what to know
Oncor and the Lower Colorado River Authority have proposed a roughly 200-mile transmission project connecting Temple to Schleicher County.
Oil facilities and data centers in West Texas's Permian Basin are the intended recipients of electricity from three planned projects, including Bell County East Big Hill, the magazine reported.
The March draft could affect 4,200 landowners, compared with 2,800 under a June 2025 proposal. The revision also increased the number of potential route segments from about 80 to 171.
Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren owns the 20,000-acre Los Valles Ranch.
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The original proposal had five segments crossing that property, but their removal or rerouting left it with no proposed crossings.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's office denied involvement with the rerouting, and Texas Monthly found no direct evidence that Warren received special treatment. Warren is a major donor to Abbott.
Oncor said Warren still qualifies as an affected owner because the preferred route passes within 520 feet of his land.
More background
For families along the potential routes, the project could mean towers reaching 198 feet and a 200-foot right-of-way on their land, Texas Monthly noted.
If landowners refuse voluntary easements, eminent domain could still allow the project to proceed. Owners could contest their compensation but would not be able to stop the route.
The revised map includes nine potential crossings of the San Saba River, up from five. The utilities cited possible damage to that river as an environmental concern for removing three segments crossing Warren's ranch, per Texas Monthly.
The revisions also brought about 1,400 additional landowners into the process.
Among them was John McKnight, a retired corporate attorney whose family has owned its San Saba County ranch since the 1870s.
Facing a possible five-mile crossing of the property, McKnight sought legal help but found that specialized law firms would not take his case.
"I got shot down by all the law firms, notwithstanding our ability to pay and my absolute belief that you need legal representation when you deal with things like this," McKnight told the magazine. "And so I was left with doing it on my own."
What's being done?
Landowners have filed protests, and about 700 participated in a contested-case hearing before administrative law judges, Texas Monthly reported.
A 2023 state law gave the Public Utility Commission of Texas 180 days, starting in late March, to decide on the 765-kilovolt routes.
In August, three administrative law judges recommended rejecting the lines, finding that the utilities had neither demonstrated their necessity nor properly notified the 1,400 newly affected owners.
The commission, whose five members were appointed by Abbott, returned the case for further study. The utilities defended the revisions as responses to landowner feedback and environmental constraints.
"This is part of the normal process for transmission line routing before the PUC," LCRA spokesperson Clara Tuma wrote to Texas Monthly.
Oncor spokesperson Kerri Dunn said northern alternatives made some of the deleted segments redundant.
Where can I learn more?
The project raises questions about landowners' rights and who pays for projects.
• A Texas landowner learned a 345-kV transmission line could split their family's property.
• A Texas Panhandle transmission project is moving ahead as a utility warns costs could reach customers' bills.
• In Katy, Texas, 5,600 customers face planned outages as a utility buries four miles of power lines.
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