Source: https://aeptransmission.com/texas/howard-solstice

06–5-25

Top image credit: AEP website

Project could saddle local property owners with utility easements and possible eminent domain situation.

Howard – Solstice Transmission Line Project

The Howard-Solstice Transmission Line Project involves building approximately 370 miles of 765-kilovolt (kV) power line between AEP Texas’ Solstice Substation near Fort Stockton and CPS Energy’s Howard Substation southwest of San Antonio.

The transmission line will introduce a more efficient and reliable delivery system, creating additional opportunities for future growth in communities throughout West Texas.

Please join us to share your feedback.

Please join us at one of the events on the dates and at the locations listed below:

Wednesday, August 6
Enchanted Event Center
4934 US-90
Del Rio, TX 78840
4 to 7 p.m.

Thursday, August 7
Fort Stockton Convention Center
2181 West I-10
Fort Stockton, TX 79735
4 to 7 p.m.

Both events offer the same information. You can view detailed maps and talk with team members about the potential route links. There will be no formal presentation, so you can arrive at any time.

CPS Energy representatives will host open houses on Monday, Aug. 4, at the Silverado Event Center, 16490 I-35 South, Atascosa, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and on Tuesday, Aug. 5, at the Uvalde County Fairplex Commissioners Auditorium, 215 Veterans Parkway, Uvalde, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Interested stakeholders are invited to attend the open house that is most convenient for them.

Feedback will be accepted at open houses, through the website feedback form, email, phone and mail through Sept. 3, 2025.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) requires AEP Texas officials to file a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) application for review and approval of the project. Following the review of the CCN application, the PUCT determines the final line route. AEP Texas representatives plan to file a CCN application for the project in early February 2026 and expect to receive a response from the PUCT in summer 2026.

Texas House Bill 5066, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2023 and signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott, required the PUCT to direct the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to develop an electric reliability plan for the Permian Basin region, which is an important energy location for the state and national economies.

A link to a petition posted online has been shared by the Sabiual Canyon Coalition in its Facebook Page

The petition: Stop AEP/CPS Transmision Line Project in the Edwards Plateau Region can be found qt Change.org

According to the petition, it states the following:

“The lack of transparency and meaningful outreach by AEP/CPS suggests either gross oversight or a willful disregard for the rights of rural Texans. Many landowners remain uninformed about the full extent of the project and its long-term consequences for their property, safety, and way of life.

We are fully aware of what this kind of infrastructure brings:

Forced easements and eminent domain, stripping families of land they’ve owned for generations.
Wildlife displacement caused by construction and maintenance corridors.
Loss of property value due to unsightly transmission towers and lingering safety concerns.
Damage to local tourism, as industrial infrastructure disrupts scenic landscapes, waterways, and recreational land.
Fragmentation of large tracts of land, making it harder for ranchers, hunters, and landowners to manage or sell their properties.
Permanent alteration of rural landscapes, imposed without the knowledge or consent of those most affected.
This petition represents a unified stand — not only against a transmission line, but against a process that sidelines rural communities and disregards landowner rights.”

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