ST9302-CS 940915 MEMORANDUM
Date: September 15, 1994
/ DUPLICATE
From: Jim Witt City Manager //
Subject: Sandy Lake Road Transmission Lines
On Wednesday of this week I had an opportunity to visit with a staff member of the Public Utility
Commission in Austin regarding Sandy Lake Road transmission lines. The purpose of my call was
to explore with him the rights that TU had in extending the line down Sandy Lake Road in light of
any PUC regulatory actions.
I asked the staff member two specific questions: Could TU have extended the 138 volt line without
going through a series of public hearings and notices on the PUC regulatory devices? The answer
to that was yes. The route that is presently in place along Sandy Lake Road is grandfathered, and
138 volt expansion would have been allowed without any hearing. A paperwork application would
have been completed, but according to this staff member, that particular route is grandfathered and
protected.
I then asked whether or not the PUC would have approved the relocation to the middle of the road
as TU has proposed. The staff member said that TU would have had to notify the PUC of this plan,
and the PUC then would have to determine whether public heating or further investigation was
necessary before final approval. Further investigation or the public hearing are not mandatory under
law. In response to a question about what type of uses were along Sandy Lake Road, I described
it as primarily residential with a small patch of commercial about a quarter mile long midway through
the project area. He told me in all probability, the PUC would have looked favorably on the
reloc, ation to the middle of the road. But, once again he emphasized this was a surface comment,
and the staff at the PUC would have to have further information before an application would have
been approved. I asked him if TU had made any contact regarding the relocation to the middle of
the road, and he asked for further time to explore whether or not one had been filed.
The staff member then said that he would get back to me as soon as possible with more information,
and on Thursday morning he faxed me the regulatory information we had discussed. We closed the
conversation by reviewing the possibility of having a meeting with PUC staff in late September in
Austin to explore the rights of the City in this situation, as well as the role PUC will have in any
future action regarding the relocation, construction, or burying of the transmission line that is
presently along Sandy Lake Road.
If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will keep you
apprised of this situation as it continues to develops.
cc: Ken Griffin
Clay Phillips
Pete Smith FORWAFtED TO
MAYOR ' 'NCIL