Oncor Electric Delivery and LCRA Transmission Services have proposed constructing a 765-kV transmission line from Schleicher County to Bell County, Texas, as part of the state’s buildout of high voltage transmission lines to meet the Permian Basin’s rapidly growing power needs.
The length of the project will be approximately 214 to 244 miles, depending on the route selected by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, Oncor said in its March 26 application. Estimated project costs run from about $1.6 billion to $1.9 billion, excluding almost $400 million in station costs for work at Oncor's Bell County East Switch.
Development of a 765-kV transmission network will help support reliability needs, “providing for the safe and reliable flow of electricity throughout Texas at a time when we’re seeing unprecedented, dynamic growth,” Ellen Buck, Oncor senior vice president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.
In quarterly earnings released February, Oncor said that as of the end of 2025 it had an active large commercial and industrial customer interconnection queue that included approximately 255 GW from data centers and over 18 GW of load from various other industrial sectors.
The PUCT approved a plan to build the first 765-kV lines in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas region in April 2025. Part of the Permian Basin Reliability Plan, it is an initial step in a broader effort to evaluate the state’s transmission and distribution system needs.
Electric demand in the Permian Basin will reach 23,659 MW in 2030, and 26,400 MW in 2038, according to ERCOT data cited in Oncor’s application. Load this year is expected to be 11,132 MW.
In conjunction with the other components of the Permian reliability plan, Oncor said its proposed transmission line “will improve bi-directional power flow on the ERCOT transmission system, increase the reliability and resilience of the system, support import capability into the Permian Basin region, address reliability issues driven by rapid load growth, and support the ability of local transmission networks to serve new loads.”
Oncor said it expects regulators to select a final route in September, and for the line to be completed and energized by 2030. Oncor and LCRA will each hold a 50% divided ownership interest in the line.
Oncor is now working on four 765-kV transmission lines as part of the state’s expansion, two of them jointly with LCRA.
