Galveston Stewart West Bay Project​​

CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric, LLC (CenterPoint Energy or the Company) maintains the wires, towers, poles, and electric infrastructure serving more than two million end-use customers in a 5,000-square-mile electric service territory in the Houston metropolitan area. While the Company’s employees ensure the reliable delivery of electricity from power plants to homes and businesses, the Company neither generates nor sells it to customers. The Company is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy, Inc.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, CenterPoint Energy, Inc. is a domestic energy delivery company that includes electric transmission & distribution, natural gas distribution and energy services operations. The company serves nearly seven million metered customers primarily in Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, and Texas. With more than 9,600 employees, CenterPoint Energy, Inc. and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 140 years.

The PUC is the state agency created by the Texas Legislature to regulate the rates and services of electric, telecommunication and water utilities throughout the state.

ERCOT manages the flow of electric power to 26 million Texas customers, representing 90 percent of the state's electric load. CenterPoint Energy’s service territory is located within the footprint of ERCOT. As the independent system operator for the region, ERCOT oversees activities related to the reliable and safe transmission of electricity by scheduling power on an electric grid that connects more than 52,700 miles of transmission lines and more than 1,030 generation units. ERCOT is a membership-based nonprofit corporation, governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the PUC and the Texas Legislature. ERCOT's members include consumers, cooperatives, generators, power marketers, retail electric providers, investor-owned electric utilities (transmission and distribution providers including CenterPoint Energy), and municipally-owned electric utilities.

Transmission lines are a part of the interconnected power system that moves electricity from generators to substations, where the electricity is reduced in voltage and then delivered to end-use consumers over the distribution system that connects to businesses and homes. Transmission lines are larger, operate at higher voltages, and typically convey electricity over longer distances. Distribution lines are smaller, operate at lower voltages, and convey electricity over shorter distances within cities and neighborhoods.

The 138 kV Stewart-West Bay Project is an existing 138 kV double circuit electric transmission line that CenterPoint Energy proposes to rebuild using concrete poles to improve resiliency.

The 138 kV Stewart-West Bay Project is located along the road right of-way of Stewart Road and FM 3005.

This line is the only feed into West Bay Substation and would impact the entire west side of Galveston Island in the event of a failure. This project will mitigate concerns around the longevity of the wooden poles and the span lengths between structures posing possible wind challenges. CenterPoint Energy is proposing to rebuild the existing transmission line in the road right-of-way and in the same alignment. CenterPoint will need to acquire aerial easement along the route to maintain proper electric clearances for safety and reliability.

CenterPoint Energy will gather input from the community through a public meeting process and other sources for the preparation of the environmental assessment of CenterPoint’s existing transmission line. After that information is gathered and the public meeting process is concluded, CenterPoint Energy will prepare and file an Application for a Certificate of Convenience & Necessity (CCN) for a Proposed Transmission Line with the PUC. The PUC will decide whether the application should be approved or not.

The typical structure proposed for the rebuilding of the existing transmission line will be a 105-foot double-circuit concrete pole with distribution underbuild.

Yes. Consistent with PUC rules and prior to filing a CCN application, CenterPoint Energy will hold a public meeting for the project to address concerns or questions from landowners and other interested parties. CenterPoint Energy will share information about the project and gather input from the public. Individuals attending the public meeting will have an opportunity to make comments, ask questions, and express any concerns that they might have about the project. Representatives from CenterPoint Energy and POWER Engineers will be present at the public meeting. The public meeting will be held on Thursday November 21, 2024, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Parker Elementary School at 6802 Jones Drive, Galveston, TX 77551.

One way to become involved in a case before the Commission is to intervene in the proceeding. An intervenor is a person who, upon showing a justifiable interest, is permitted to become a party to the proceeding. Intervenors are full participants in the proceeding and make legal arguments, conduct discovery, file testimony, cross-examine witnesses, and are themselves, if they testify, subject to cross-examination by the other parties in the case. You must file a document requesting to intervene with the PUC that conforms to the rules and practices of the PUC, and mail the motion to all parties of record in the proceeding. The request to intervene can be in the form of a letter and must be filed with the PUC. If you do not wish to be a full participant in this proceeding, you may file a document protesting the transmission facility. A Protestor is a person or organization opposing any matter contained in the application or petition submitted to the PUC. Protestors are not parties to the case and may not conduct discovery, cross-examine witnesses, or present a direct case. Protestors may, however, make a written or verbal statement for the record in support of or in opposition to the application and give information to the PUC staff that they believe may be helpful. If you intend to be a protestor, you can either send written comments stating your position regarding the application, or if the docket progresses to a hearing, a statement of protest can be made on the first day of hearing. Although public comments are not sworn and therefore not treated as evidence, they help inform the PUC and its staff of the public concerns and to identify issues to be explored. The PUC welcomes such participation in its proceedings.

Once the PUC has approved the project, CenterPoint Energy will make a bona fide offer to the landowner when purchasing right-of-way or easement following the requirements of Texas law and will provide landowners with a copy of the State of Texas Landowner’s Bill of Rights. In cases where the parties do not agree on the value of the property, the land value will be determined in a condemnation proceeding where special commissioners, appointed by a judge, will determine the value of the property following a hearing where all interested parties are entitled to provide evidence of valuation.