Battle Lines Drawn Over Power Lines In Frisco
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FRISCO (CBSDFW.COM) - Some Frisco homeowners are concerned about proposed high voltage transmission lines coming into their neighborhood. And the bigger worry is they think their opposition will be silenced before the state makes a decision.
Residents don't want the lines built above Main Street or nearby Stonebrook Parkway. And now they're angry because Brazos Electric doesn't want their concerns to be considered.
Meredith Held believes if high voltage power lines go up right behind her house on Main Street, it won't take long for her property value to go down.
"Would I have bought my house here and spent all this money on my backyard and everything else if I'd known Brazos Electric would put power lines over my back fence? Absolutely, not," says Held.
She and other homeowners in West Frisco don't want to see tall electric lines and have spent months fighting to have Brazos Electric bury them instead.
Their expert testifies among the 700 homes that could be impacted, their property values could drop significantly.
Held is also a realtor who says the lines are a turn-off to buyers. "On many occasions, I've had a client say keep going, I'm not interested in this home," says Held.
In response, Brazos Electric calls claims from the homeowners' expert, "...speculative, unreliable, and unfounded..." The cooperative says the claims "...should be struck in its entirety because it is not relevant..."
Staff to the Public Utility Commission (PUC), whose commissioners will ultimately decide the case, agrees with Brazos.
"They asked for us to get that information to them, and then they're throwing it out? Why did we bother if it's not going to be considered," asks Held rhetorically.
Before the PUC rules on the case, an administrative law judge will hold a hearing, then recommend if the lines should be placed above or below ground.
"Hear us out, weigh the evidence, all the evidence," says Held.
The administrative law judge will hold the hearing in Austin July 27. The PUC could make its ruling in September or October.
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