Staff reports | It’s been a busy week for all thing nuclear that are related to the multi-billion-dollar demise of the V.C. Summer nuclear plants in Fairfield County.
- On Thursday, a federal judge said no to a Monday request by SCE&G to stop a temporary 15 percent rate cut passed by lawmakers earlier this summer.
- The utility’s parent, SCANA, saw earnings drop to $8 million in the second quarter.
- This week about the time of the one-year anniversary of SCE&G and state-owned utility Santee Cooper shuttered the nuclear project $9 billion in debt, SCANA shareholders rebuked executives and voted to merge with Dominion Energy, according to this story. But it appears executives of the utility parent could still get their golden parachutes.
- And on Tuesday, attorneys working for organizations supporting ratepayers filed a motion to let customers find out if they must continue to pay for the failed nuclear project before any merger with Dominion.
“Deciding whether the Dominion deal offers any benefits before first deciding whether customers owe a single penny for SCE&G’s $5 billion hole in the ground is putting the cart before the horse,” said Will Cleveland, an attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, in a press release. “Only after we know the full cost can we get a complete understanding of whether a merger with Dominion is in the customers’ best interest.”
Frank Knapp, president and CEO of the S.C. Small Business Chamber of Commerce, said he supported the motion: “We believe that it is in the best interest of all SCE&G ratepayers to resolve the issue of permanent rate reduction of electric rates for the utility in light of the abandoned nuclear plant issue. Only then should the Public Service commission hold a hearing on the proposed merger between Dominion Energy and SCANA.”
In other news from this week:
Green from greenspace. South Carolina’s state parks are pulling in record revenue, according to the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. From January to May, state parks generated $3,796,335 in total revenue. That’s a 30.6 percent increase from May 2017 and a 16.5 percent jump in year-to-date revenue from 2017. Read more here.
Clyburn gets nod. U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn, a Democrat representing South Carolina’s 6th congressional district, was named on a shortlist of black Democratic House members that could be the first black Speaker of the House. Clyburn has served in Congress since 1993 and has served as House Assistant Minority Leader since 2011. Read more here.
Revolutionary research. The next time you’re doing some Revolutionary War research, you may be able to do so from the comfort of your own home. S.C. Department of Archives and History has digitized some of the most popular Revolutionary War records and made them available online. Access the online records here.
Questions on immigration policing. Under the administration of Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina launched a secretive police force tasked with rounding up gang members and human traffickers. But $5 million later, the Immigration Enforcement Unit has had fewer than 10 percent of its cases involving violent crime. Read the Post and Courier report here.
Weirdest story in a while: Todd Kincannon, the former general counsel and executive director of the S.C. Republican Party, recently was arrested for “intentionally, willfully, maliciously, cruelly and needlessly” mutilating and stabbing his mother’s family dog in Greenville County. According to press accounts, Kincannon told police, ““I’m the second coming of Christ and I got a command from God to do it,” according to an incident report.” Read more.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!