Plans to expand the Texas electric grid will cost more than first thought. The Public Utility Commission is building thousands of miles of transmission lines that will carry wind power across the state.
Now the project is expected to cost $1.8 billion more than the origially projected cost of $5 billion - or about $270 from every Texan, The Texas Tribune reports.
That's about the cost of building another Cowboys Stadium.
Why the increase? The 2008 estimate used straight-line distances to calculate the cost of the lines. The distances ended up being longer than estimated after the PUC requested the lines follow fences or roads to minimize the intrusion to Texas property owners.
The project is expected to be completed in December 2013 and in that time, the new cost estimate is subject to further change.
