Source reporting: Texas Scorecard
The Public Utility Commission of Texas is scheduled to consider a proposed 370-mile transmission route after landowners and Val Verde County raised disputed concerns about property tied to Chinese businessman Sun Guangxin, according to Texas Scorecard. The commission is expected to take up the Howard-to-Solstice project on September 11.
Texas Scorecard reported that administrative law judges recommended Route 4 for the 765-kilovolt line, which would run from the San Antonio area toward Fort Stockton. The recommended path includes a segment near or across land owned by Brazos Highland Properties and Harvest Texas. The outlet identified Sun as the owner or majority owner of those companies.
An attorney for another ranch and the Val Verde County attorney argued in regulatory filings that portions of the route involve land controlled by Chinese-majority entities. State Rep. Eddie Morales also asked the commission whether Texas restrictions involving foreign access to critical infrastructure apply to any proposed easements. These are claims presented in an active administrative proceeding, not settled findings.
The two companies rejected suggestions that they or Sun are affiliated with or acting for the Chinese Communist Party or Chinese government. They told Texas Scorecard that they support the transmission project, are participating as affected landowners, and have not sought access to or control of the electric grid. They also said federal national-security review produced an agreement that remains in effect.
The administrative law judges found that the record did not substantiate prohibited foreign ownership along an affected route and concluded that the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act did not justify rejecting an otherwise viable path. The commission, whose members make the final routing decision, declined to discuss the pending case under restrictions on outside communications.
The project is part of a broader Permian Basin reliability plan involving more than 1,200 miles of proposed 765-kV lines. Texas Scorecard noted that the commission approved a separate line in late August despite requests from some lawmakers for a pause. The new dispute adds a different question for the upcoming vote: whether the evidentiary record adequately resolves foreign-ownership and infrastructure-security concerns. A transparent decision should identify the controlling facts, explain how state law applies, and distinguish verified ownership information from contested allegations.