Update on Taylor County Commissioners Court Meeting of May 26, 2009

AAIBO — Tue, 26 May 2009 07:02:04 +0000

County Commissioners met for three and a half hours Tuesday with 20 items on their agenda. There were several items of interest, however, the most important subject discussed was brought by a spokesman for ONCOR Electric. Dallas Cothram, representative for the company, told of the 866 miles of new electrical transmission lines that will traverse Taylor County. Commissioners received a lot of information on the Competitive Renewable Energy Zones undertaken by Oncore. The planning and data collection phase of the project is now being done. Engineers have selected a path they think the power line will take. Next Oncor will have to negotiate with land owners for placement of the 110 foot towers and two switching stations in the county. He said that the when completed the lines should add 6 to 20 million dollars to the tax base for Taylor County. Construction is estimated to cost 100 million dollars and will likely generate thousands of dollars of income for the towns in the county as work crews stay and work on the project. The commissioners were concerned that the property owners in the affected area have adequate notice of the mandated public hearing required by Texas law. Two of the commissioners said land owners in their precinct have expressed concerns about where the lines and towers will go. Several have expressed their opposition to the project. Oncor is authorized by the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Texas to do this project in West Texas. The purpose of the lines is to carry the wind generated power from here in West Texas to larger towns in the DFW area.
Dave Boyll
AAIBO

Abilene Association of Independent Business Owners » Taylor County

Update on Taylor County Commissioners Court Meeting of May 26, 2009