01 Forecasts Are Not Facts
Demand forecasts are planning tools, not permission slips. Regulators should separate firm load from less-certain requests, queue entries, industrial demand assumptions, data-center assumptions, and timing-dependent scenarios.
Questions to ask - What exact load requires this exact 765kV project?
- What portion is firm, funded, and contractually committed?
- What happens if demand arrives later, elsewhere, or at a smaller scale?
Source placeholders - TODO ERCOT load forecast / planning document
- TODO utility need study
- TODO PUCT docket filing and testimony
02 The Cost Story Is Incomplete
Major transmission costs may be at stake, and any savings claim is only as reliable as the assumptions underneath it. Texans deserve current estimates, financing assumptions, cost allocation, sensitivity cases, and ratepayer risk in plain English.
Questions to ask - What is the current capital cost and defined scope?
- Who pays through rates, fees, uplift, or other mechanisms?
- What happens if demand is delayed, reduced, or shifted?
Source placeholders - TODO current project cost estimate
- TODO cost-benefit model
- TODO rate impact / cost-allocation source
03 Alternatives Need a Real Public Test
765kV should not be treated as inevitable before lower-impact options receive a serious public comparison: upgrades, reconductoring, grid-enhancing technologies, storage, demand response, local generation, phased buildouts, and HVDC where appropriate.
Questions to ask - Which alternatives were modeled in detail?
- Were alternatives tested with the same assumptions?
- Did alternatives analysis include landowner and environmental impacts?
Source placeholders - TODO utility alternatives study
- TODO ERCOT planning comparison
- TODO independent expert analysis
04 Property Rights Cannot Be Minimized
A permanent easement is not a minor inconvenience. It can affect access, operations, views, future development, family plans, compensation disputes, and land value questions. A check does not erase the need for route-specific proof.
Questions to ask - What rights does the proposed easement give the utility permanently?
- What future uses become restricted or uncertain?
- How will gates, fencing, livestock, irrigation, aerial application, and equipment movement be protected?
Source placeholders - TODO sample easement language
- TODO ROW width and tower-height specs
- TODO compensation / eminent-domain process source
05 Rural Burdens Must Be Counted
Statewide benefits are being advertised. Local burdens must be counted just as carefully: towers, easements, access roads, construction disruption, viewsheds, road wear, emergency access, and long-term land-use limits.
Questions to ask - Which counties, roads, schools, emergency services, and communities may be affected?
- What local benefits are specific, durable, and enforceable?
- Who pays for road damage, traffic control, and construction impacts?
Source placeholders - TODO affected county list
- TODO public route map
- TODO county road / emergency access comments
06 Environmental Review Cannot Be Generic
Texas land is not generic. Karst, aquifers, wetlands, wildlife corridors, migratory birds, pollinator habitat, herbicide management, construction access, EMF/noise questions, and cumulative ROW impacts require route-specific scrutiny.
Questions to ask - What karst, aquifer, wetland, and water-resource features are crossed or near the route?
- What route-specific species, habitat, wildlife corridor, bird collision, and pollinator issues were studied?
- What federal, state, or local consultations and permits are complete, pending, or conditioned?
Source placeholders - TODO environmental assessment / EA
- TODO USACE / USFWS / NHPA status
- TODO EMF/noise technical appendix if available