Jett Whittington, The Alliance Gazette | August 29, 2026
───
In June, The Alliance Gazette reported that Wilks Ranch Texas, Ltd. had intervened in the state proceeding governing Oncor’s proposed Dinosaur-Longshore 765 kV transmission line, formally advocating for routes that would carry the line through Link D8 — a corridor in the interior of Eastland County — and testifying that the family had business interests along that segment that would benefit from the project.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas has now issued its final order in the case. The approved route does not include Link D8. In the months since our first report, public records have also revealed that the family moved a large block of land in that corridor into two newly formed limited liability companies during the same period the case was pending. This article reports what those records show, and what they do not.
The Ruling
The PUC issued its final order in Docket No. 59315 on August 28, 2026, selecting a route that does not contain Link D8, the segment Wilks Ranch had asked the Commission to include in every alternative route it proposed. The order followed a Proposal for Decision issued by administrative law judges at the State Office of Administrative Hearings on July 24, 2026, which had also recommended a route excluding Link F11 and Link D8.
Records Filed During the Case
County and state records reviewed by The Alliance Gazette since our first report show the following.
On April 8, 2026, Wilks Ranch Texas, Ltd. executed two Special Warranty Deeds conveying land to Eastland Power, LLC. The deeds, recorded April 14, 2026, transferred a called 2,629.93-acre tract and a called 899.25-acre tract situated in Eastland County. Farris Wilks signed both deeds on behalf of the grantor.
Eastland Power, LLC is a Texas limited liability company formed November 6, 2025. A second entity, Eastland Power Data, LLC, was formed January 7, 2026. According to Texas Comptroller records, both entities report the same Cisco mailing address used by Wilks Ranch Texas, Ltd. in its filings, and the deeds direct that recorded copies be returned to the Wilks Brothers, LLC legal department.
The land conveyed to Eastland Power, LLC was assembled from tracts previously held by Wilks Ranch Texas, Ltd., and lies in the corridor through which Link D8 was proposed to run.
“Benefitted,” Not “Required”
In sworn testimony filed May 5, 2026, Tristan King, Vice President of Engineering at Wilks Brothers, LLC, stated that “Wilks Ranch has business interests along Link D8 that would be benefitted by this project.” The testimony described the transmission line as a benefit to those interests. It did not describe the line as necessary to them, and the family’s supported routes were framed as preferences rather than requirements.
What the Record Does Not Show
The nature of the business interest along Link D8 remains undisclosed in any public record reviewed by The Alliance Gazette. The specific reasons Wilks Ranch gave the Commission for its route preference are contained in a fully confidential filing, Item No. 4355, which is accessible only to the PUC and has not been reviewed by this publication.
Searches of Texas Commission on Environmental Quality databases found no active construction, air quality, or industrial permits associated with Eastland Power, LLC, Eastland Power Data, LLC, or Wilks-affiliated entities in the Link D8 corridor. No large load interconnection request associated with those entities was identified in the ERCOT queue. The Alliance Gazette has found no public record establishing what, if anything, is planned for the land.
Where Things Stand
With Link D8 excluded from the approved route, the specific transmission advantage Wilks Ranch sought through the proceeding will not be provided by this project. Whether the family proceeds with development on the corridor land by other means, and what that development would be, is not established by any public record currently available. Future filings such as a construction or air permit, an interconnection request, or a recorded easement under the Eastland Power entities would be the first public indication of a project moving forward. As of publication, no such filings have been located.
───
Sources
All source documents are available in our public archive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1l0r3_8Pye_mAdck6qRrM80USSzrvB7ka
───
The Alliance Gazette is a transparency-focused local journalism publication serving the Cisco and Eastland County area. We publish our source documents because we believe you should be able to verify everything we report. This is a follow-up to our June 5, 2026 report on Wilks Ranch Texas, Ltd.’s intervention in the Dinosaur-Longshore transmission line proceeding.