Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
Hill Country counties are lining up to oppose the largest ever power line project in state history that would bring electricity from Central Texas to West Texas.
It would cut across the Hill Country in the process.
Llano County commissioners this week joined their counterparts in Burnet County to formally oppose the project by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and Oncor to build the 200-mile project using 15-story-tall towers every 1,000 feet.
An exact path for the project from Bell County to Schleicher County has not been selected. But the counties are asking state agencies to vote to kill the project due to concerns that no matter where it lies, it will mar scenic views and harm groundwater, wildlife, ranching and farming interests, and property values.
The study area for the new transmission line includes portions of Bell, Burnet, Concho, Coryell, Lampasas, Llano, Mason, McCulloch, Menard, Milam, San Saba, Schleicher, Tom Green and Williamson counties, according to the LCRA.
The project is designed to hoist huge power lines that would carry twice the voltage of the power lines normally used in Texas.
See projected routes here:
Bell County East to Big Hill Preliminary Route Map
The project's formal name is the Bell County East-Big Hill 765 kv Transmission Line Project in state filings.
Llano commissioners approved a resolution asking the state, including the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and the Public Utilities Commission of Texas to reject applications for the project.
If state agencies approve the project next year, construction would be completed by 2030.
The LCRA posted to its website a November update on the project:
"LCRA TSC and Oncor have held public meetings and collected feedback about the projects and preliminary route segments. LCRA TSC, Oncor and the project routing consultant are reviewing and evaluating the feedback in preparation for the joint CCN project filing, which is expected in March 2026," the update read.
"For more information on the filing process and future steps, please see the Licensing Process for New Transmission Facilities document. At the time of the filing, notice will be mailed to any property owner whose land is crossed by a proposed route or who has a habitable structure within 500 feet of the centerline of the project," the update added.
