McAllen neighbors block AEP Texas substation again despite rising power demand

AEP Texas is facing record-high electricity demand across the Rio Grande Valley and is preparing for the summer heat, but its plans to fortify the McAllen electric grid are delayed once again after neighborhood opposition. 

In August 2025, neighbors spoke out, and McAllen city commissioners agreed to reject AEP Texas’s plans to build a new electric substation on a 5-acre property near the intersection of Buddy Owens Boulevard and North Bentsen Road. 

Those same neighbors returned on Monday with the same concerns: noise pollution, health and safety, and a potential decline in property value. 

Even though the proposed project is now on the south side of Buddy Owens, a temporary, smaller substation was rented on land owned by the city for a two-year stint. 

“Now it’s going to be in our front yards instead of our backyards, which makes it a little bit worse,” said neighbor Lupita Valentin. “I don’t know why they are insistent on using our neighborhood. I wish they would leave our neighborhood alone. There’s other available properties that they can use.” 

Daniel Lucio, the AEP Texas representative for the McAllen area, said AEP is trying to get the substation installed before the summer heat comes in. 

“If we get to the summer season and we have extraordinary temperatures, servicing that area could be a concern,” he said. “I appreciate the concerns from residents, but I want to make sure that come the heat of the summer, our residents are receiving the service they need from their electric supplier.” 

AEP Texas is the Corpus Christi subsidiary of electric transmission utility provider AEP in Ohio. It’s already at least 2.5 years behind schedule on the new substation plans for Buddy Owens, plus it expects to build three more substations across McAllen. 

AEP Texas serves 1.1 million customers, many of whom live in the Rio Grande Valley, but its service area also includes swaths of South, West, and East Texas. In 2024 alone, electricity demand from AEP Texas customers increased by 600 megawatts. 

In response to neighborhood concerns, McAllen city commissioners tabled the agenda item for two weeks.

Now, AEP Texas expects to host a community meeting with the Meadow Ridge Subdivision Homeowners Association to share its plans for a temporary electric substation, then return to the city commission for plan approval.  

“We’re in a situation where there needs to be some type of facility that will ensure the proper energy needs in that area. So it’s a very tough decision,” said Tony Aguirre, McAllen city commissioner for District 1.