AUSTIN — Many East Texas residents agree that the Southeast Texas Area Reliability Project is necessary for power reliability, but those same residents believe that routing the power lines across Lake Livingston is a bad idea.
Entergy Texas Inc., an electric utility company providing service to more than half a million customers in 27 counties, plans to construct a new single-circuit 500 kilovolt transmission line approximately 160 miles in length over East Texas.
The project was approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Texas, which also will decide the project’s route, affecting Jasper, Montgomery, Newton, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler and Walker counties.
However, the preferred route would have the power lines cross Lake Livingston at a narrow portion between Trinity and Onalaska, directly through Barrett’s Landing, an upscale subdivision.
Zach Brady, a lawyer based in Lubbock who represents Barrett’s Landing residents as well as other clients that will be affected by the project, said that his clients are opposed to any route that crosses the lake, particularly Route 10, which will end up cutting through their property.
“It’s the belief of my clients that this should be built over land,” he said.
Another concern of those in opposition is that the construction process will create an environmental hazard; Brady said the project could run into permitting issues as it is listed as containing dioxides in the lakebed.
“It’s not a good idea to stir that up, especially since Houston gets 70 percent of its water from Lake Livingston,” he said.
In a letter to the commission dated Sept. 11, Randall Macchi, director of Public Works for the city of Houston, stated that they were not informed by Entergy about the project, and the department is “strongly opposed” to any route over the lake.
“The construction of power lines across Lake Livingston creates many undesirable scenarios and potential environmental hazards to a major water supply …” the letter states.
In filings to the PUC, Entergy has maintained that crossing the lake is the cheapest and most effective option.
A meeting of the PUCT was held Sept. 11 in Austin to discuss an amended certificate of “convenience and necessity” filed by Entergy in February, at which numerous area residents signed up to comment on the project. However, PUCT Chairman Thomas Gleeson pointed out that for the Thursday meeting, oral arguments about the project had been denied, and that allowing public comment on the matter was against the policy of the PUCT as it would seem to circumvent the ruling as well as being unfair.
He did say the PUCT should do a better job of informing the public of its policies.
Brady has filed a request for the PUCT to reconsider its denial of public comment. Additionally, many landowners in the affected area also seek to address the commission, claiming they were not notified of hearings properly.
During the Sept. 11 meeting, Gleeson said it would be best to delay any decision until research can be done on how to interpret certain requests.
“This is an interesting case since of the parties involved in this project, all have recommended different routes,” he said. “I’m not prepared to make a decision on this today, mostly because there was a finding in the PFD of the impact of a certain route regarding future development in the area, specifically the difference between future and ongoing development.”
The matter has been placed on the agenda for a meeting this Thursday.
Scope of the project
According to Entergy, the new line will connect the proposed Babel 500 kilovolt switching station to the proposed Running Bear Substation. The proposed Babel station would be constructed at one of three potential locations and connect into the existing Layfield to Hartburg 500 kilovolt transmission line south of Toledo Bend Reservoir in Newton County.
The proposed Running Bear Substation is planned to extend from one of four potential locations that will connect into Entergy Texas Inc.’s existing Lewis Creek facilities along Longstreet Road between Lake Conroe and Interstate Highway 45 or ETI’s existing transmission facilities east of Willis between FM 1097 and County Line Road in Montgomery County.
The project will use predominantly steel single-circuit structures, with typical transmission structures supporting 500 kilovolt lines approximately 100-140 feet above ground, with span links of approximately 800-1,200 feet between structures, all within a right-of-way up to 225 feet wide.
ETI’s western region has grown by approximately 5 percent per year over the past five years, and the Houston Metro area has expanded into ETI’s service territory. Transmission upgrades have improved load serving capabilities over the years, but the area remains constrained as growth continues. ETI cited Winter Storm Uri as an extreme event where the SETEX Area Reliability Project would improve load serving capabilities.
The PUCT has the final say on the project and the route based on ETI’s application to amend its Certificate of Convenience and Necessity. That certificate includes a routing study conducted by third-party consulting firm POWER Engineers, Inc. and the public’s input as it relates to the project, including possible sites for the new electric facilities.
POWER Engineers Inc. also served as routing consultants, after developing a study by gathering data, maps, aerial photos and input from federal and state agencies and local officials.
To find more information on the SETEX Area Reliability Project, visit https://www.entergytexas.com/transmission/setex. Related filings and PUCT information can be found by searching 57648 at https://interchange.puc.texas.gov/search/filings/.
