Rep. Harvey Hilderbran (Kerrville) requested that the Texas Public Utility Commission consider routing new transmission lines down State Highway 277, heading east along Interstate 10 to the station near Comfort.

While Hilderbran’s proposed route is outside the Lower Colorado River Authority Study Area for proposed routes, the representative said that the 277/I-10 route should have been considered originally for the project. The line will bring energy from Twin Buttes to the McCamey D structure, then to the Westwind facility and Kendall.

In his letter, Hilderbran also encouraged the commission to direct LCRA to use single pole structures for the power lines in Eldorado, Sonora, Junction, as well as from Kerrville to the Kendall Station near Comfort.

The state commission is behind the initial order to build the new lines, and it will make a final decision on route placements by April 2010. While the LCRA is tasked with recommending routes, the commission can accept, modify, or reject any recommendations. The public will still be able to intervene with the PUC during this process.

Following the commission’s decision, the LCRA will begin acquiring land easements, which will be between 100 and 160 feet. That process could take up to a year, and construction on the lines will probably begin in late 2010 or early 2011, with completion expected by the end of 2012.