Q&A with Sharyland Utilities

Who is Sharyland Utilities? How will the transmission build out process work? Who will be affected and how? Find the answers to these questions and much more below. Answers can be attributed to Jeanne Phillips, Sr. Vice President at Sharyland.

Q&A with Sharyland:

1. How would you describe the relationship between Sharyland and Hunt Transmission? Will it just be Sharyland that will be contacting landowners or will Hunt be involved as well?

Answer: Sharyland Utilities (“Sharyland”) will be the entity responsible for actually constructing and operating the CREZ (Competitive Renewable Energy Zone) transmission facilities. Hunt Transmission Services (“HTS”) will provide local support for all community outreach efforts related to the CREZ transmission project. Depending on the activity related to project development, most contact with landowners will be made by Sharyland; however, HTS will be engaged in keeping local officials and community groups informed of the project’s milestones and progress.

Sharyland is a privately-owned, Texas-based transmission and distribution electric utility located in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). It is strictly a “wires” only company and it is Sharyland that will own and operate the transmission lines that will carry electricity from competitive renewable energy zones in the Panhandle and South Plains to end-use customers in other regions of Texas. Sharyland’s current service territory is located along the Rio Grande border in the south Texas cities of Mission and McAllen. Its corporate headquarters are located in Dallas, and Sharyland is owned by Hunter L. Hunt and other members of his family; it is managed by Hunter Hunt.

HTS is part of a group of privately held companies, which are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Hunt Consolidated, Inc., a diversified holding company engaged in a wide range of interests, including oil and gas exploration and production, real estate development, electric power, ranching, agriculture, and private investing.

2. How should landowners anticipate being contacted?

Answer: Sharyland and its consultants are currently conducting a routing study of the project area. General preliminary routes have already been designated by ERCOT, but it is Sharyland’s responsibility to further refine these routes, taking into account environmental considerations and ERCOT’s electrical planning criteria. When property ownership has been identified, and potential locations for substations and line routes are determined, Sharyland will host several open meetings later this summer around the project area to present preferred and alternative routes for public review and input. Affected landowners will receive direct mail notice of these meetings, and a notice will be posted in the local paper to invite the general public. Sharyland anticipates that notifications for these meetings will be sent mid-summer 2009.

Once the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) approves a final transmission line route, Sharyland will contact the owner of the property to be crossed by the transmission line to purchase an easement to construct, operate, and maintain the new electric transmission lines.

3. What is Sharyland’s plan concerning right of way acquisition?

Answer: Sharyland plans to obtain a nominal width of 175 feet for right-of-ways for its 345 kV transmission lines, although some locations may require less width due to physical terrain and the type of structure used. If possible and prudent, Sharyland will consider using or paralleling existing right-of-way of pipelines, old rail lines, or existing transmission lines. However, until route selection is better defined and landowner preferences are taken into consideration, it is hard to know if the use of existing corridors will be the best option. Initially, Sharyland anticipates acquiring a quarter section (160 acres) for substations (collection stations).

4. What is the best way for a concerned landowner to go about getting answers to questions they may have?

Answer: Sharyland has several resources available to landowners, as well as other interested parties, for inquiries or concerns. The Sharyland web site (www.sharylandutilities.com) is an easily accessible source of information for CREZ transmission project updates and responses to frequently asked questions. For a local contact, Sherry Kunka, HTS Manager for Community Affairs, is available in the Sharyland Amarillo office, and her phone number is 806-679-2504. Another contact point is the Sharyland office in Dallas at 214-978-8958, or toll free at 866-354-3335. All media inquiries should be directed to Jeanne Phillips, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs & International Relations, at 214-978-8534.

5. What is Sharyland doing to make this process as landowner/community friendly as possible?

Answer: Sharyland is making a long-term investment in electric transmission infrastructure in this wind-rich area of Texas so it is vitally important to solicit and to take into consideration the concerns and suggestions of landowners and communities. Through dissemination of regular project updates, a local presence, personal community contacts, periodic issue forums, and the PUCT’s open meeting process, Sharyland is looking forward to hearing from its new neighbors. Together with landowners and communities, the region’s wind resources can be shared with other Texans and the unique environment of the Panhandle and South Plains can be respected.

6. Will landowners whose land is acquired receive direct benefit? If so, could you outline those?

Answer: Sharyland plans to pay a fair market value for transmission line easements. The fair market value is determined by conducting a market study or an appraisal for the easement to be obtained. A copy of the study or an appraisal report may be provided to a property owner at the time an offer is made to purchase the easement.

7. What benefits will the affected communities see?

Answer: An important aspect to communities and counties where new transmission infrastructure will be built is an increase in tax base. Sharyland will pay local property taxes on the transmission facilities and land that it owns. Sharyland will also pay state and local sales and use taxes for goods and services defined as taxable by state law. Other economic benefits will be the opportunity for local jobs during the construction phase, and potentially permanent jobs for operation and maintenance of the new transmission lines. And because Sharyland is committed to a long-term presence in the Panhandle and South Plains, development of local community programs advocating renewable resources or environmental sustainability may also bring potential benefit.


8. How will those surrounding communities who aren’t going to have transmission built within their county lines be impacted?

Answer: First, Sharyland believes the development of the CREZ resources and transmission lines will have a positive impact on the entire Panhandle and South Plains, whether a transmission line is built in a particular county or not. This region is recognized as having the best wind resources in the entire State of Texas, and now that the PUCT has given the go-ahead for CREZ transmission lines to be built, wind developers and other wind-energy related industries will be more likely to locate in this area. Second, the designated CREZ transmission lines are the major “highways” and other connecting lines (the “driveways”) will need to be built by wind developers. Some of those lines, depending on the distance from a CREZ line, could be in an adjoining county. Finally, as the CREZ transmission project progresses, all counties may see economic benefit as a result of construction and operation and maintenance of the lines.


9. What can the landowners in the area do to help facilitate the process?

Answer: Participate and communicate. Public input is a vital part of route selection, and it is important that landowners and communities participate in the open meetings to be held by Sharyland later this summer. These meetings will be the opportunity to look at detailed maps of preferred and alternative routes, and to offer suggestions or concerns. Also, communicate questions to Sharyland on an ongoing basis so that concerns can be identified and issues are addressed when they arise.