
Consultants for the SunZia project and concerned ranchers will be testifying over the next five days before the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.
SunZia submitted its application in March for approval of transmission line locations and right-of-way widths.
The project has been years in the making and not without controversy as disputes initially rose over its proximity to a U.S. military installation and environmentalists raised concerns about effects on wildlife.
The proposed transmission lines would cross about 520 miles of state, federal and private land in the two states.
The SunZia line will cross Luna County, with a mid-point substation planned approximately 10 miles north of Deming, off the Hatch Highway.