The Texas Public Utilities Commission took no action Thursday on a final order intended to say how much wind power can come from special zones, which were set up to speed the building of transmission lines.

"The staff is still working on the final language for the order," said Terry Hadley, the commission's spokesman. "They expect that no later than the next meeting on Aug. 14."

The preliminary order the staff is fleshing out calls for 18,000 megawatts of wind power to come from Competitive Renewable Energy Zones, two of which cover the southwest and east central Panhandle.
One megawatt can power about 250 to 300 homes.

The final order will also include a map of transmission routes which are now slated to go through Childress, Collingsworth, Gray, Carson, Armstrong, Randall, Castro, Swisher, Briscoe and Hall counties in the Panhandle.

The delay didn't surprise some observers because the preliminary order made the commission's intentions more clear.

"As soon as they said, 'We've picked this level of power and these target areas,' there was a flurry of responses," said Ken Starcher, director of West Texas A&M University's Alternative Energy Institute.

That led to transmission providers refining their plans in hopes commissioners will pick them to build the project.

"Now they're getting down to the nitty gritty," Starcher said. "Here's what it's really going to take."