The State office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) issued their proposal for decision (PFD) for the Bell County East to Big Hill (Bell County) and Big Hill to Sand Lake (Sand Lake) 765kV applications on August 20, 2026. Bell County and Sand Lake comprise the middle Permian Basin 765kV transmission line.
The ALJs recommend the PUC should deny the Bell County and Sand Lake 765kV applications because: - Oncor and LCRA TSC did not establish that the middle Permian Basin 765kV line was necessary for the service, accommodation, convenience or safety of the public, and - Oncor and LCRA TSC violated public meeting requirements for 1,400 landowners located on roughly 400 miles of new route links added when the Bell County 765kV application was filed.
The PUC remanded (i.e. returned) the Bell County and Sand Lake 765kV applications to the SOAH ALJs at its open meeting on Friday, September 11, 2026. The following sections discuss the PUC remand and the steps the SOAH ALJs have outlined to respond to the remand.
PUC Remands Bell County and Sand Lake The PUC said the Bell County ALJs did not adequately address two of the issues in the PUC's referral and preliminary order issued to SOAH on March 30, 2026.
The preliminary order listed 21 different issues the PUC requested SOAH to resolve, including issues dealing with: (1) need for the 765kV transmission line, and (2) the best alternative route. The PUC said the Bell County ALJs did not adequately address issues number 11 and 13. Issue 11 asks if the 765kV transmission line is necessary to meet state or federal reliability standards. Issue 13 asks for the estimated congestion cost savings that may result from the 765kV transmission line.
Congestion cost savings refers to financial savings achieved when a new or upgraded transmission line removes a grid bottleneck, allowing cheaper electricity to flow freely. Electricity congestion occurs when transmission lines lack the physical capacity to carry the volume of electricity needed.
The Bell County SOAH ALJs responded to Issues 11 and 13 in their original August proposal for decision (PFD), but the PUC said these responses did not adequately address these issues.
SOAH ALJs Respond to PUC Remand Order The Bell County SOAH ALJs issued two orders for the PUC's Remand, that outlines the following steps: - Oncor & LCRA TSC (the Applicants) and the PUC Staff are required to submit briefs that explain their legal arguments on both issues number 11 and 13. Intervenors are permitted to submit briefs but are not required to do so. Briefs are due by Wednesday, October 7, 2026. Factual assertions in the briefs must include specific pinpoint citations from the record.
- After the briefs are filed, all parties may file responses to the briefs by Monday, October 19, 2026.
- The ALJs will not reopen the evidentiary record. This is an important point because it means the applicants cannot submit new evidence to support their brief. Rather, the applicants can only use existing evidence in the record to support their legal arguments.
- The ALJs will issue a supplemental proposal for decision (PFD) after October 19th that only addresses Issues 11 and 13.
- All the parties will have an opportunity to file exceptions and replies to exceptions for the supplemental PFD that are strictly limited to Issues 11 and 13. The PUC allowed 20 days for exceptions and replies to the original August PFD.
- Finally, the SOAH ALJs will issue their final exceptions letter addressing all the exceptions and replies from both the original August PFD and the supplemental PFD.
The Bell County and Sand Lake 765kV applications will return from SOAH to the PUC after the SOAH ALJs issue their final exceptions letter. Then the PUC is expected to schedule an open meeting for oral arguments and then announce their decision on the Bell County and Sand Lake 765kV applications at a subsequent open meeting.
The steps identified above will take time to complete and it is highly unlikely the PUC will decide the Bell County and Sand Lake 765kV applications before the midterm elections on November 3, 2026.
Permian Basin 765kVApplication Differences
The PUC approved the Dinosaur to Longshore (Dinosaur) and Longshore to Drill Hole (Drill Hole) 765kV applications at its open meeting on Friday, August 28, 2026. Dinosaur and Drill Hole comprise the north Permian Basin 765kV transmission line.
The PUC also approved the Howard-Solstice 765kV application at its open meeting on September 11, 2026. Howard-Solstice is the south Permian Basin 765kV transmission line. The PUC has now approved two of the three Permian Basin 765kV transmission lines and remanded the middle 765kV transmission line back to the SOAH ALJs.
The primary difference between the three Permian Basin 765kV applications is that: - The SOAH ALJs recommended approval for the north and south 765kV transmission lines and the PUC approved these 765kV applications.
- The Bell County SOAH ALJs recommended the PUC deny the middle 765kV transmission line and the PUC responded by remanding the case back to the ALJs.
The PUC said they remanded Bell County because the SOAH ALJs did not adequately address issues 11 and 13. The SOAH ALJs for Bell County, Dinosaur and Howard-Solstice all provided responses to issues 11 and 13 in their respective proposals for decision and the responses are similar. The only significant difference is that the Bell County ALJs recommend the PUC deny the middle 765kV transmission line and the PUC remanded the case.