To Hill Country landowners' undoubted relief, the Public Utility Commission will cancel plans to build one controversial wind-power transmission line, as well as a portion of a second.

At a public meeting today, the three commissioners voted to go with a "lower-cost" alternative: upgrading substations and wires that already exist in the region.

The proposed high-voltage lines had come under fire from Hill Country landowners who sought to preserve the rugged beauty of their area. Cognizant of the concerns, the commission asked the state grid operator earlier this year to investigate alternatives. Upgrading existing infrastructure, the grid operator reported, would ...

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