Power Line and Transmission Easements: How They Affect Land Value

Common easement types and how they affect land

Widths are typical figures published by American Electric Power (AEP) and Texas A&M AgriLife, not legal rules. Your recorded easement sets the actual width and limits.

Swipe sideways to see every column.

Easement type	Typical width (verify in your document)	Common limits and effect on the land
Transmission line, 69 to 138 kV	100 feet in rural areas; urban strips can be narrower (AEP typical)	No buildings, pools, or tall trees in the strip; crops and grazing are often allowed
Transmission line, 345 kV	150 feet (AEP typical)	Same limits over a wider strip; grading, ponds, and parking need utility review
Transmission line, 765 kV	200 feet (AEP typical)	Widest strip; takes the most usable ground from a tract
Distribution line (local power)	Varies; check the recorded easement or plat	Smaller, lower-voltage lines; limits come from the easement document
Pipeline	Permanent strip often 20 to 50 feet, plus a construction area of 50 feet or more (AgriLife)	Buried line; terms such as depth, number of lines, and assignment vary by agreement
Road or access easement	Varies by document	Lets someone else cross your land; can affect where you fence or build

What is an electric transmission easement?

An electric transmission easement is a legal right that lets a utility build, operate, and maintain high-voltage lines on land it does not own. You keep title and can still use the land in ways that do not interfere with the line. The utility controls a strip of land, often called the right-of-way, plus the access it needs.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) describes two kinds of power lines. Distribution lines are smaller, lower-voltage lines that carry power around a town or neighborhood. Transmission lines carry higher voltage and move large amounts of power across the state, like an interstate compared with a local street.

Other easements follow the same idea for different purposes. A pipeline easement lets a company bury and maintain a pipeline. A road or access easement lets a neighbor or the public cross your land. The Texas State Law Library groups these as utility, public, and private easements.

Sources: Public Utility Commission of Texas, Transmission Line Routes: Learn How to Protest · Oncor, Right-of-Way and Vegetation Management · Texas State Law Library, Neighbor Law: Easements · Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Texas Pipeline Easement Negotiation Checklist

How do you find out if your land has a power line easement?

Check your deed and the county clerk’s property records first, because written easements are often recorded there. Then read Schedule B of a title commitment, which lists exceptions the title policy will not cover. You can also ask the utility, since many keep their own records of recorded easements.

Do not rely on one search alone. AEP notes that some title searches go back only 30 to 40 years, and that an easement stays valid even when a title report misses it. A visible line on the property is also a strong clue, and AEP says the law in most states treats a visible line as notice to a buyer.

Read the easement itself, not just the index entry. AEP says many older easements were blanket easements that let a utility cross wherever it needed. In a 2020 case, the Texas Supreme Court declined to limit an old easement with no stated width to the 30 feet the utility had used, though the holder must still use it reasonably.

Your deed and any easement recorded before or after you bought the land
Schedule B of your title commitment or owner’s policy
County clerk records searched by your name and prior owners’ names
Your survey or plat, if one shows the easement strip
The utility’s right-of-way or land rights office

Sources: Texas State Law Library, Neighbor Law: Easements · Texas Department of Insurance, Form T-7, Commitment for Title Insurance · American Electric Power, Encroachments on Transmission Rights-of-Way · Texas A&M AgriLife, Texas Agriculture Law: Texas Supreme Court Reverses Ruling for Landowner in Easement Width Case

What can you do under power lines on your land?

You can usually keep using the land in ways that fit the easement’s purpose, such as grazing, row crops, or a road crossing. You usually cannot put buildings, pools, or tall trees inside a transmission right-of-way. The exact limits come from your easement document and the utility’s safety rules, so they vary from line to line.

AEP’s published guidelines show how detailed these rules can get. AEP prohibits buildings, pools, above-ground fuel tanks, tall signs, and tall trees in its rights-of-way. It requires written approval before you change the ground level, and it allows row crops but not tree farms. Ponds may not cover the full width, and fences across the strip need a 14-foot gate.

Other Texas utilities take a similar approach. CenterPoint says its approval must be granted before any work is done in its easement, and it reviews each request case by case. Oncor says its easements typically give it the right to remove trees and other obstructions, and it uses the National Electrical Safety Code to set clearances.

If you want to add a driveway, fence, pond, or utility line near the strip, ask the utility first. A written approval is far easier than moving something after the fact.

Sources: American Electric Power, Encroachments on Transmission Rights-of-Way · CenterPoint Energy, Right-of-way and encroachment safety · Oncor, Right-of-Way and Vegetation Management

Do power line easements lower land value?

Sometimes, but not automatically, and measured effects are usually small. Decades of appraisal research show mixed results, and much of it looks at homes rather than vacant land. The effect on your tract depends on where the line crosses, how wide the strip is, and how much usable land remains.

A 2014 review in Real Estate Issues, a journal of the Counselors of Real Estate, summarized this research. A 1982 summary of 27 studies found ten with no significant effect, ten inconclusive, and five negative. A 2009 Appraisal Journal review of 16 core studies found about half showed a negative effect and half showed none. When effects appeared, they were almost always under 10 percent and usually 3 to 6 percent.

The rural land studies in that review point the same way. A 2012 Appraisal Journal study of 19 Montana farm sales found no market evidence of a price effect from transmission lines. A Wisconsin study of 88 rural sales found no effect when the line ran along an edge, and a small effect of 2.1 to 3.4 percent when it crossed the property. The review’s authors were retained by an electric utility in a related proceeding, so weigh their conclusions with that in mind.

Location on the tract matters most in practice. A line along the back fence may barely change how a buyer uses the land. A wide strip through the middle of a small tract can split the best building site. Larger lines need wider strips, so voltage affects how much ground stays free to use.

Sources: Roddewig and Brigden, Power Lines and Property Prices, Real Estate Issues (Counselors of Real Estate), 2014 · American Electric Power, Encroachments on Transmission Rights-of-Way

How does Texas approve a new transmission line across private land?

The Public Utility Commission of Texas decides whether a new transmission line is needed and which route it will follow. The utility files an application to amend its certificate of convenience and necessity (CCN) with several possible routes. The PUCT does not build lines and does not set the amount paid for easements.

Notice comes in stages. The utility sends notices and gathers community input before it files. On the day it files, it must mail notice to landowners on the county tax rolls whose land is directly affected. That includes land the easement would cross, and land with a home or other habitable structure within 300 feet of the centerline for lines of 230 kV or less, or 500 feet for larger lines.

You can protest by filing written comments, or you can intervene and become a party to the case. The PUCT says requests to intervene are due within 30 days of the filing, and your notice lists the exact deadline. A judge at the State Office of Administrative Hearings recommends a route, and the commissioners decide within 180 days of the filing.

This process is active across much of the state. The PUCT’s Permian Basin Reliability Plan includes extra-high-voltage 765 kV lines, and utilities filed route applications for several of them between December 2025 and March 2026. If you get a notice, the five-digit docket number lets you find the route maps on the PUCT Interchange.

Sources: Public Utility Commission of Texas, Transmission Line Routes: Learn How to Protest · Public Utility Commission of Texas, Landowners and Transmission Line Cases at the PUC · Public Utility Commission of Texas, Procedural Rule 22.52, Notice in Licensing Proceedings · Public Utility Commission of Texas, Permian Basin Reliability Plan

What are your rights if a utility wants an easement on your land?

If you do not agree to sell an easement, a utility with eminent domain authority can ask a court to condemn one. Texas law sets steps it must follow first. It must give you the Landowner’s Bill of Rights, make a bona fide offer, and base its final offer on a certified appraisal.

The initial written offer must include the Bill of Rights and the proposed easement document. It must also state whether the payment includes damages to the rest of your property. The final offer comes at least 30 days later and must equal or exceed the certified appraisal. You then get at least 14 days to consider it.

If you still do not agree, a panel of three special commissioners holds a hearing and sets compensation. When only part of a tract is taken, Texas law directs them to consider the effect on the value of your remaining property. Either side can object and take the case to a judge or jury.

The easement terms can matter as much as the price. For transmission easements, the state’s required terms include the permitted surface uses, the easement’s location, its maximum width, and how the utility will reach it. The Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center also suggests limiting height, voltage, and structures, and covering damages outside the strip. A real estate attorney can review the language before you sign.

Sources: Office of the Texas Attorney General, The State of Texas Landowner’s Bill of Rights (November 2025) · Texas Property Code, Chapter 21, Eminent Domain · Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center, Shock Treatment: Negotiating Transmission Line Easements

How do you sell land that has a power line easement?

Gather the easement documents, show buyers where the line crosses, and price the land against sales of similar tracts. Most power line easements do not expire and stay with the land when it sells. Recorded easements often show up in title work anyway, so sharing them early helps avoid late surprises.

Disclosure rules depend on the type of sale. The Texas seller’s disclosure notice for a single-family home asks about unplatted easements. If you sell land with owner financing under an executory contract, Texas law requires you to give the buyer copies of documents that describe easements. Ask a real estate attorney which rules apply to your sale.

Buyers will look at the usable land outside the strip, where a home or barn could go, and whether a road can cross the right-of-way. Clear documents make that review faster. When you compare offers, make sure each buyer has seen the same easement records, so the prices reflect the same facts.

The recorded easement, plus any amendments or assignments
A survey or plat showing the easement strip, if available
Your title commitment or owner’s policy, including Schedule B
Any payment, damage, or settlement agreements with the utility
Written approvals from the utility for anything inside the right-of-way
The PUCT docket number, if a new line is proposed nearby

Sources: American Electric Power, Encroachments on Transmission Rights-of-Way · CenterPoint Energy, Right-of-way and encroachment safety · Texas Property Code, Chapter 5, Conveyances (Sections 5.008 and 5.069)

Frequently asked questions

Do electric transmission easements lower property value?

Research is mixed. A 2009 Appraisal Journal review of 16 core studies found about half showed a negative effect and half showed none, and effects that did appear were usually 3 to 6 percent. For rural land, results depend heavily on where the line crosses the tract.

Can I build under power lines?

Usually not inside a transmission right-of-way. AEP prohibits buildings, pools, and other fixed structures in its rights-of-way, and CenterPoint requires approval before any work in its easement. Your easement document and the utility set the actual limits.

How wide is a transmission line easement?

It depends on the easement document. For rural land, AEP lists typical widths of 100 feet for 69 to 138 kV lines, 150 feet for 345 kV lines, and 200 feet for 765 kV lines. Some older blanket easements state no width at all.

Can I still farm or graze under power lines?

Often, yes. AEP says landowners can generally use a right-of-way when the use fits the easement, and it allows row crops but not tree farms. Check your own easement for crop, fence, and gate terms.

Does a power line easement go away when I sell the land?

Usually not. AEP says most easements are perpetual and bind the new owner, and CenterPoint says its land rights stay with the land after a sale. Plan to hand the easement records to your buyer.

Who decides where a new transmission line goes in Texas?

The Public Utility Commission of Texas approves the need for a line and its route after a hearing process. It does not set easement payments. The utility negotiates with landowners, and courts handle condemnation if there is no agreement.

Sources and further reading

General information only. Local rules and individual title or tax facts require a qualified professional.

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