On March 11, the Public Utility Commission (PUC) took up Docket No. 37902 – Remand of Docket No. 35665 regarding the Commission Staff’s Petition for Selection of Entities Responsible for Transmission Improvements Necessary to Deliver Renewable Energy from Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ).
One item on this agenda was the decision awarding the city of Garland’s publicly owned electric company (GP&L) a share of the transmission lines that will carry West Texas wind power to the rest the state. This discussion was in response to a state judge’s order in January that the commissioners exceeded their authority when they left Garland Power and Light out of the selection process for the Competitive Renewable Energy Zones.
GP&L will attempt to work a deal to jointly build a section of the CREZ lines with South Texas Electric Cooperative. Odessa to McCamey A and McCamey A to McCamey C is the line Chair Barry Smitherman pointed out for GP&L and STEC. The section had been assigned to the Lower Colorado River Authority’s (LCRA) power company. However, an LCRA representative spoke on the Commission’s decision noting there was an investment already made in the route that needed to be recouped as they move forward.
The South Texas Electric Cooperative (STEC) board meeting will not occur until the latter part of April. The parties hope to have something worked out before the end of April.
To ensure the other CREZ projects were not delayed, this issue and two routes between GP&L and STEC were moved to another docket #38045.