No Link 1REspañolIntervene

Pine → McCloud Central · 345 kV · El Paso County

No Link 1R.

El Paso Electric wants to run a new 345,000-volt transmission line across the East Side. One of its route links — Link 1R — runs along Pony Express Road, cutting straight through properties where families live. EPE's own map shows a way around it. The Public Utility Commission picks the route, and it listens to the people who intervene.

How to interveneGet deadline alerts

Neighbors on the record

“For those of us who live here, the consequences would not end when construction crews leave. We would live with this infrastructure every day.”

Claudia DeneenLiving here since 1989 · U.S. Army veteran
Read her comment (PDF) →Filed Sept. 29, 2026 · Docket 60319, item 3 ↗

“I bought this land in 2006 specifically for its unobstructed view of Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site … Link 1R would place 125-foot structures directly in that view.”

William KlierLandowner since 2006 · Hueco Tanks rock art guide (volunteer)
Read his comment (PDF) →Filed Sept. 29, 2026 · Docket 60319, item 5 ↗

“I purchased this property specifically because of its location near Hueco Tanks State Park, its open and undeveloped character, and its expansive views across the Hueco Valley.”

Kim GroebnerIntervenor · Hueco Mountain Estates landowner, planning a home there
Read the statement (PDF) →Filed Sept. 30, 2026 · Docket 60319, item 7 ↗
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The project

What El Paso Electric is proposing

345 kVamong the highest-voltage lines on EPE's system
27+ mishortest full route through EPE's links, from Pine Substation (La Pine Ave & Appleton St) to McCloud Central (off US 54 near the state line)
125 ftsteel monopoles, single- or double-circuit, on a 150-ft-wide right-of-way (per EPE's structure drawings)
510 ftthe notice radius — if your home is this close to a route, you were supposed to get a letter

Timeline (EPE's schedule)

  1. Oct 2025 – Sep 2026Routing study & environmental assessment
  2. Sep 2026PUCT opens Docket 60319; EPE application to follow
  3. Sep 2026 – Mar 2027PUCT review — the window to intervene
  4. Mar 2027Anticipated PUCT decision on a route
  5. Apr 2027 – Mar 2028Right-of-way acquisition (easements, condemnation)
  6. Apr 2028 – Mar 2029Construction

How close is your home? Zoom in and tap your roof, or drop a pin and drag it there.

Link 1R — along Pony Express Rd1N–1T–1V — EPE's own bypass around 1ROther preliminary links

Link geometry from EPE's open-house map. Tap any link for its numbers.

Link 1R

1R crosses more properties than any other link.

EPE drew 36 preliminary links. We ran each one against EPE's own parcel, structure and transmission-line layers. Link 1R stands out: it cuts across more separately owned lots than any of them — and EPE's own map offers a way around it.

Parcels crossed
69 — the most of all 36 links (next: 1C, 53)
vs. the bypass
1R + 2A: 75 parcels, 11.7 mi. 1N + 1T + 1V between the same two points: 36 parcels, 11.1 mi.
Existing corridor
0% of its 7.68 miles follows an existing transmission line — all new right-of-way
Pony Express Rd
Runs 60–320 ft from the road for about 0.9 mi — in the foreground of every home on it
Homes counted
EPE's inventory shows only 4 structures within 510 ft of 1R. Current aerial imagery shows at least five more buildings inside that zone that it doesn't count — including a house with outbuildings on Pony Express Rd. If one of them is your home, make sure it's counted.

Take action

Two ways to get on the record — and one call to make

  1. 1

    Intervene in the PUCT case

    Intervenors become parties: they can file testimony, question EPE's witnesses, and have a contested-case hearing held on the route. Comments are read; intervenors are heard. It is free, and you do not need a lawyer. Once you're a party you must file a statement of position by the judge's deadline, or you'll be dismissed.

    File a short written request in Docket 60319 through the PUCT's Interchange Filer: your name and address, that you own property along Link 1R, how far your home is from the line, and that you ask to intervene. EPE's structure inventory misses buildings along 1R — this is how yours gets counted. The deadline is 30 days after EPE files its application. Get an alert so you don't miss it.

    File to interveneWatch Docket 60319
  2. 2

    Can't take on the deadlines? File a public comment

    A comment puts you on the record as a protestor. There's no deadline and nothing to do afterward, but you don't become a party. Say you oppose Link 1R, give your address, and state that your home is within 510 ft of the line if it is — EPE's structure inventory misses buildings along 1R. Mention wells, livestock, and the view from your road. EPE, PUCT staff and the commissioners all read the record.

    File it online with the PUCT's Interchange Filer (no account needed): choose Docket 60319, upload your letter as a PDF or Word file, and watch for the e-mailed filing receipt. Or mail it to PUCT Central Records, P.O. Box 13326, Austin, TX 78711-3326, marked "Docket No. 60319". Everything filed is public — including your address.

    Don't rely on EPE's project email. The address on EPE's open-house site, connect@pine-mccloud.com, cannot receive mail — the domain pine-mccloud.com isn't registered (checked Sept. 29, 2026). Messages sent there are lost.

    Send EPE a copy by mail: P.O. Box 982, El Paso, TX 79960-0982 (the address on EPE's PUCT filing).

    File a comment
  3. 3

    Call your officials

    EPE consulted El Paso County and our state legislators. All of Link 1R is in County Precinct 1, House District 74 and Senate District 29 — ask them to weigh in on routing.

Don't miss the deadline.

Intervention windows are short and dates move. Leave an email and we'll send one message when EPE files its application and one before the deadline. Nothing else.

Questions

FAQ

Isn't the route already decided?

No. EPE files several alternative routes and the PUCT chooses among them — it can approve, approve with conditions, or deny. It has six months from filing to decide.

What does intervening commit me to?

You become a party to the case and receive filings. You can participate as much or as little as you like — many landowners simply file a statement of position on the route. Neighbors can also group together and share one representative.

I didn't get a notice letter. Am I affected?

EPE mails notice to owners whose land is crossed or who have a home within 510 feet of any alternative route. Check the maps in the application once it's filed — and if you're close and weren't notified, say so in the docket.

I emailed EPE's project address. Did they get it?

Probably not. The address EPE published, connect@pine-mccloud.com, uses a domain that isn't registered, so email to it can't be delivered. If you sent comments there, send them again as a comment in Docket 60319 — and it's worth saying in that comment that EPE's published contact address didn't work.

Are you against the line?

We're against this route. If the East Side needs more capacity, build it on a route that crosses fewer homesteads — EPE's own link map already has one.

Filing in Docket 60319, step by step

Everything goes through the PUCT's Interchange Filer. It takes about 10 minutes, but it times out after 20, so have your letter saved as a PDF or Word file before you start. This is guidance from neighbors, not legal advice.

Open the form in a new tab ↗

First: what are you filing?

Request to interveneMakes you a party to the case. Due 30 days after EPE files its application.Filing Type: Pleadings
Statement of positionRequired of every intervenor, usually a few days after the intervention deadline — or you are dismissed.Filing Type: Pleadings
Public commentGoes in the record as a protest. You don't become a party, and there's no deadline.Filing Type: Public Comments

Page by page

Open the form in a new tab ↗
  1. StartTick the box confirming you understand that everything you file is public, then click Begin.
  2. Control NumberEnter 60319. Leave "New Control Number" unchecked.
  3. Contact InformationYour own name, mailing address, phone and email. Central Records uses it if something goes wrong, and both confirmation emails go to this address. You can tick "Save Contact Information" for next time.
  4. ConfidentialLeave it at No and click Next. A request to intervene or a comment isn't confidential.
  5. Filing Info → Filing Party NameYour own full name (or every owner's name if you file together). Not "EPE", not "PUC Central Records".
  6. Filing Info → Filing TypeClick the word in the box (not the arrow) and pick Pleadings for a request to intervene or a statement of position, or Public Comments for a comment. In EPE's last case several neighbors picked other types by mistake.
  7. Filing Info → Filing DescriptionOne short title, not a paragraph (max 255 characters). For example: Request to Intervene of Jane Doe – Link 1R, Pony Express Rd.
  8. Add FilesUpload your letter. If you attach several files they're merged into one PDF in the order you add them, so don't upload both a Word and a PDF copy of the same letter.
  9. SummaryCheck everything (use Edit to fix a section), tick "I'm not a robot", and click Submit. Note the tracking number.
  10. Two emailsThe first only means it arrived. The second, with the E-Filing Receipt PDF, means it was accepted; it then shows up in the docket with an item number.

What to write

Download a template (it opens in Word, Pages or Google Docs) or copy the text. Fill in the brackets, delete what doesn't apply, and save it; the Filer takes the file as it is, or as a PDF. Once the judge assigns a SOAH docket number, put it at the top of everything you file.

Request to intervene
Download template
PUC Docket No. 60319
SOAH Docket No. [add once assigned]

Application of El Paso Electric Company to Amend its Certificate of Convenience and Necessity for the Pine to McCloud 345 kV Transmission Line in El Paso County

REQUEST TO INTERVENE OF [YOUR FULL NAME]

I own property at [street address], El Paso County, Texas (El Paso Central Appraisal District property ID [number]). Proposed Link 1R [crosses my property / passes about ___ feet from my home]. I have a justiciable interest that may be adversely affected by this proceeding, and I request to be admitted as an intervenor.

I oppose any route that uses Link 1R.

Email for service: [email]
Phone: [phone]
Mailing address: [address]

[Signature]
[Printed name]
[Date]
Statement of position
Download template
PUC Docket No. 60319
SOAH Docket No. [number]

STATEMENT OF POSITION OF [YOUR FULL NAME]

I am an intervenor in this proceeding and own property at [address], near proposed Link 1R.

I oppose any route that includes Link 1R because:
1. Link 1R crosses 69 parcels, more than any other preliminary link in EPE's own routing data.
2. None of Link 1R follows an existing transmission line; it would require all-new right-of-way.
3. It runs 60 to 320 feet from Pony Express Road for about 0.9 miles, in the foreground of the homes along it.
4. [Your own facts: distance from your home, wells, livestock, how you use the land, what you can see from your home.]

I support routes that avoid Link 1R, such as those using Links 1N, 1T and 1V.

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that on [date] I served a copy of this document on all parties of record by email.

[Signature]
[Printed name]
[Date]
Public comment
Download template
PUC Docket No. 60319

PUBLIC COMMENT OF [YOUR FULL NAME]

I live at [address], near proposed Link 1R of El Paso Electric's Pine to McCloud 345 kV transmission line. I oppose any route that uses Link 1R. [Say why in your own words.]

[Name]
[Date]

After you intervene — don't get dismissed

Stuck? PUCT Central Records: 512-936-7180 · centralrecords@puc.texas.gov. Filed something wrong? Central Records can void it after you file a short letter asking them to.