Copperas Cove joins statewide push for 765-kV power lines
Copperas Cove’s EDC backed a statewide 765-kV campaign as Texas weighs bigger transmission for the Permian Basin, with route fights still possible for nearby landowners.
The Copperas Cove Economic Development Corporation has joined Texans for Responsible Infrastructure Investment, putting the Coryell County city behind a statewide push for 765-kV transmission lines. The move comes as Copperas Cove, a city of 41,669 on I-14 about an hour from Austin, keeps courting employers that need dependable power.
The coalition is advocating major 765-kV electric transmission expansions at a moment when Texas grid planners are already moving in that direction. The Public Utility Commission of Texas approved the state’s first extra-high-voltage transmission plan on April 24, 2025, for the Permian Basin Reliability Plan, and the project is ERCOT’s first extra-high-voltage transmission lines built to meet the Permian Basin’s rapidly growing power needs.
ERCOT’s January 2025 planning documents show the grid is facing rapid demand growth and increasing penetration of inverter-based resources, while the 2024 Regional Transmission Plan compared 345-kV and 765-kV options. ERCOT’s December 2024 report said that planning work was intended to help decide the voltage level for the Permian Basin import paths.
Oncor is set to build one of the first 765-kV transmission line projects in ERCOT for the Permian Basin, including the Howard-Solstice Transmission Line Project. Oncor’s February 2026 overview put the PUCT’s April 2025 choice of 765-kV down to its ability to support long-term reliability and growth. The Howard-Solstice line is one of three 765-kV transmission lines approved along import paths in the Permian Basin Reliability Plan.
For Coryell County residents, the question is where the lines will go. The PUCT decides whether a transmission line is needed and what route it will follow, while landowners near possible routes receive notice and can find maps in the utility’s application on the PUCT Interchange using the docket number.
Copperas Cove’s business recruitment push is moving in the same direction. The city’s economic development office says the community is growing, and the Governor’s Small Business Summit is scheduled for July 23, 2026, at the Copperas Cove Civic Center, 1206 W. Avenue B.
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