Keeping Los Alamos National Laboratory supplied with adequate power to fuel its many operations — including increased production of plutonium pits that trigger nuclear weapons — is a matter of national security.

That doesn’t mean a proposal to build a high-voltage power line to ensure the power supply can go without scrutiny. A 12.5-mile transmission line, costing as much as $300 million, is being touted as necessary to augment the lab’s power supply. Two current power lines are thought to be reaching capacity, one this summer and the second by 2026.

Before a third line can be built, many concerns need to be addressed.