Opposition continues to grow against a high-powered transmission line proposed to run through parts of Gillespie and Kerr counties.

A steering committee in Harper and other concerned citizens opposing the private transmission lines have met several times in the past few months and are encouraging landowners to resist leasing utility easements.

The group meets again at 7 p.m. Thursday at the St. Anthony's Catholic Church parish hall on Third Street in Harper, and anyone may attend.

Hilliard Energy is attempting to acquire a series of contiguous 180-foot utility easements for Florida Power and Light Energy to build a private 345 kilovolt line from Taylor County to Comfort. The lines are not part of the Competitive Renewable Energy Zone transmission line process, which also could affect Kerr County and will transport wind energy from West Texas to the state's metropolitan areas.

Opponents argue that because the Texas Public Utility Commission already has approved the construction of the CREZ project transmission lines, the easements sought by Hilliard Energy to build an additional private transmission line are unnecessary and could reduce property values by millions of dollars.

Hundreds of residents in Kerrville, Center Point, Comfort, Harper and Fredericksburg have signed a petition opposing the energy lines. The petitions will be sent to Gov. Rick Perry, the Public Utility Commission and other state officials.

According to steering committee member Martha Stevens, the route of the Hilliard Energy power lines continues to change.

"As more people decide not to allow easements on their property, the routes change and other owners are asked for easements," she said. "New boundaries for the Hilliard Energy-Florida Power and Light transmission line in western Gillespie County now include Doss on the north, 10 miles west of Harper, the Kerr County line to the south and Springcreek on the east."

Stevens warned that the contract presented to landowners by Hilliard Energy is a "perpetual option for non-specific utility easement." This could include water lines, gas pipelines and electric transmission lines.

"These options can be held in perpetuity or sold to another company," Stevens said. "Money that is promised could be a long time coming, and the land can lose value or be impossible to sell."

She also advised anyone confronted with an easement contract to consult a lawyer before signing anything.

CREZ line

Save Our Scenic Hill Country Environment, a group that opposes industrial wind turbine installations in Gillespie and surrounding counties, has scheduled an informational meeting to provide updates on industrial turbine installation and transmission line developments.

The public is invited to attend the meeting at 6 p.m. Nov. 11 in the Community Room at Central Texas Electric Co-op, 386 Friendship Lane in Fredericksburg.

The featured speaker will be Max Yzaquirre, former chairman of the PUC. Some of his focus will be on the PUC-approved CREZ transmission line, which could affect northeastern corners of Kerr County and run between Tierra Linda and Kerrville near Interstate 10.

A PUC route known as Scenario 2, which was approved in July, has transmission lines running from McCamey in Schleicher County to a substation in Comfort. The route then has the lines going through Gillespie, Llano and into Lampasas counties.

The Lower Colorado River Authority, the primary electricity supplier for Kerr County residents, is among a group of Texas transmission providers that filed a proposal in September with the Public Utility Commission of Texas to construct the line.

The lines are expected to be in operation in four to five years and cost about $4.9 billion. They will transmit 18,456 megawatts of wind power to metropolitan areas of the state.

The project began in 2005 when the Texas Legislature passed a bill directing the PUC to select the most productive wind zones in the state and devise a transmission plan to move power generated from these zones to various populated areas in the state.

The Electrical Reliability Council of Texas, the agency that oversees the state's electric grid, did a study and picked five "competitive renewable energy zones" in West Texas and the Panhandle.

LCRA jointly filed its proposal with Electric Transmission Texas LLC, Oncor Electric Delivery, Sharyland Utilities, South Texas Electric Cooperative and Texas-New Mexico Power Co.