A CCN Proceeding (or a PUC Routing Case) is where an electric transmission line operator or utility company requests permission from the Texas Public Utility Commission to build an electric transmission line in a certain area of the state. CCN stands for Certificate of Convenience and Necessity.

The utility company will likely not say that there is a “preferred” route. Instead, the utility company will state which route it believes “best meets” the PUC’s rules and routing criteria. In addition, the utility company will likely take the position that it will accept any route chosen by the PUC’s Commissioners.

Yes, it is important for intervenors that choose to hire lawyers to hire a lawyer that has experience handling a contested PUC matter. PUC cases are unique and very different from a normal trial.

Yes, if a landowner fails to timely intervene, they will not be a party to the PUC proceeding and the other parties could reach a consensus or settlement route without the landowner’s permission.

Some intervenors try to navigate through the PUC proceeding without a lawyer. However, PUC proceedings are extremely complicated. There are unique procedural rules and very tight deadlines that make it difficult for a landowner intervenor to effectively protect his or her interests without engaging counsel.

Yes, but you need to be careful. It is very common for lawyers in PUC proceedings to represent multiple intervenors. It is also very common for intervenors to form groups. However, the PUC process is ripe for legal conflicts between individual intervenors depending upon the various links and routes that are presented in the utility’s application.

No, there will be a specific deadline for intervenors to file written direct testimony or statements of position. If an intervenor fails to meet this deadline, he or she will likely be struck as a party to the proceeding.

It depends. Some utility applications are given priority status and must be resolved within 6 months of the filing of the application. In most situations, it takes about 1 year after the filing of the application before a final decision is reached.

In most PUC contested cases, the case will initially be assigned to a panel of Administrative Law Judges who will issue a Memorandum of Decision. Parties can then file written exceptions to the Memorandum of Decision and the case will then ultimately be decided by the PUC Commissioners.

This depends on the specific case. In some PUC cases, the utility company’s estimated costs are an important factor. In other PUC cases, proximity of the routes to habitable structures might be more significant. In other cases, paralleling existing transmissions lines or roads might be the more significant factor.

Sometimes. It depends on the specific case and whether or not your property is crossed by the “best meets” route and/or is crossed by a route that is competitive to the “best meets” route. In many PUC cases, landowners hire routing experts that have environmental or engineering expertise that enables them to analyze and scrutinize the utility company’s application and environmental assessment report.