Updated noon CST on Feb. 19, 2014

With power use booming during the past 10 years in Cedar Park and Leander, two energy leaders have proposed a way to increase reliable energy to the cities. In a Dec. 3 report, members of the Lower Colorado River Authority and Pedernales Electric Cooperative recommended a new substation be built near the intersection of Parmer Lane and Whitestone Boulevard in Cedar Park. PEC assessors said this will increase power reliability for a growing area more than 3 miles from major electric lines to the east and west. Though local officials agree the area will need more power, some object to a planned substation in the Parmer Lane area. PEC, a nonprofit utility, owns seven substations linked by electric lines roughly along US 183, and other power utilities such as LCRA own other substations in the region, PEC Communications Supervisor Kay Jarvis said. LCRA Public Information Officer Marcie Lasseigne said a new Cedar Park substation would connect those two sets of north/south lines, she said. "The project is planned to start in early 2018 and be complete in late 2018," Lasseigne said. Cedar Park leaders said they do not want a new station built close to main commercial corridors, while Leander officials cited the chance of higher power bills to build a new station. City and county leaders have filed their objections in writing, contending for a substation farther north instead of plans to build a Parmer Lane station.

Increasing power

Cities such as Cedar Park have their own public utilities for water and sewer services. But city residents buy power from a variety of providers, which in turn use substations and electric lines owned by LCRA and PEC. Both organizations are overseen by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, whose regional planning group includes members of both organizations. Group members said the area's existing systems cannot handle western Williamson County's growth. Jarvis said PEC engineers have observed that Williamson County has used about 5.3 percent more electricity each year for the past 12 years. They project future growth will be about 4.6 percent annually, she said. "To accommodate the load growth specific to northwest Williamson County, the cooperative has identified the need for new infrastructure, including an additional substation," Jarvis said. "Additional infrastructure also includes the need for additional transmission, which requires the coordination and approval of a number of state entities." Power burdens are strained near Parmer Lane and Whitestone Boulevard and near the East Crystal Falls Parkway and Ronald Reagan Boulevard intersection, group members wrote. PEC and LCRA foresee heavier power burdens by 2019 without an added station. In the report, planning group members listed 12 solutions with projected costs ranging from $43.1 million to $77.5 million. But the group settled on alternative 11, expected to cost $51 million. The plan calls for a substation in the Parmer Lane and Whitestone Boulevard area, owned by LCRA and linked by 12.6 miles of lines to county substations, each with new terminal equipment. All of the planning group's other options also involved a new Parmer Lane substation.

Parmer Lane proposal

Sam Roberts, Cedar Park assistant city manager, said LCRA and officials from Cedar Park, Leander and Round Rock began discussing the new substation in November. LCRA and PEC leaders emphasized the need for more reliable power in the area, Roberts said. "We understand and don't have any argument with their stated need to build these facilities to improve this reliability," Roberts said. "Our primary concern is the locations of these facilities." City officials requested maps showing the 11 other routes for electric lines, but the planning group had only considered potential substation locations, Roberts said. "Our concern is, if you connect the dots of these substations in alternative 11, which is the one they're recommending, that would result in a transmission line that could go [into the] Parmer Lane and 1431 [area]," he said. The lines would disrupt the city's plans for the area, he said. "[That] is right in the heart of our future developing commercial corridor," he said. In a Dec. 31 letter Roberts made other requests, including that LCRA and PEC consider laying underground lines in Cedar Park. City leaders also prefer single electric poles for any above-ground lines instead of the larger framework towers, Roberts said. Mayor Matt Powell in an accompanying Dec. 31 letter also requested further discussion about the alternative 11 site. "The city recommends choosing an alternative that minimizes the impact on these commercial corridors," Powell said. "The city is not in support of the [alternative] 11 being proposed by LCRA."

Reagan alternative

ERCOT Communications Manager Robbie Searcy said regional planning group members often evaluate alternative proposals after making recommendations. "When we come back with certain recommendations [from group members], that's not necessarily based on physical awareness of the layout of the land," Searcy said. "That's why there's a give-and-take." Roberts said area stakeholders, including Cedar Park and Williamson County, proposed an alternative solution before a Dec. 31 deadline—a substation near Ronald Reagan Boulevard and close to the Leander/Cedar Park border. The new substation would connect the LCRA-owned Chief Brady substation in Round Rock with the PEC-owned Leander substation near Hero Way and Toll 183A. ERCOT's planning committee will review proposed alternatives. The group will recommend a choice to ERCOT's board of directors, and then the project will move to the Public Utility Commission, Searcy said. Leander City Manager Kent Cagle said Leander leaders agree the area needs a new substation, but one with the least possible impact on electricity customers. All parties should discuss that first, he said. Otherwise residents might have to pay more to cover the project's cost, Cagle said. "Alignment and locations are things that come later," Cagle said. Public Utility Commission Director Terry Hadley said the commission does not regulate regions covered by a cooperative such as PEC. Electric companies and cooperatives would decide how to recover project costs, which could include raising rates on power customers, Hadley said. ERCOT sent the cities' and local stakeholders' feedback to LCRA, which is expected to respond in mid-February, Roberts said. By this spring, ERCOT should issue the results of its independent study of the county's potential infrastructure needs, Jarvis said. At that point, Cedar Park officials believe the solution will be locked in, Roberts said. "We're concerned that once it's approved by ERCOT, it'll be hard to change," he said. Correction: A data-transfer error led to an earlier version of this story leaving out newer material. Near the story's end, an updated paragraph would have replaced material about how a power provider can ask the Public Utility Commission for project cost recovery. The updated paragraph reads: "Public Utility Commission Director Terry Hadley said the commission does not regulate regions covered by a cooperative such as PEC. Electric companies and cooperatives would decide how to recover project costs, which could include raising rates on power customers, Hadley said."