NEWS: Lawmakers frustrated with state utility regulators

By Lindsay Street, Statehouse correspondent  | House and Senate members on both sides of the aisle are finding common ground in expressing frustration with the state’s utility regulators. 

The S.C. Public Service Commission has drawn renewed scrutiny after a November staff directive that would create the cheapest solar rates in the nation, which solar industry advocates say would effectively ending new solar investment in the state. The directive isn’t final yet. 

Some lawmakers see the proposal, which would slash utilities’ reimbursement for solar field generation and keeping contracts to 10 years, as an affront to the unanimously-passed Energy Freedom Act in May. 

“The PSC decision shows they actually moved backward in regard to opening up solar markets to fair competition,” Beaufort Republican Sen. Tom Davis told Statehouse Report. He was one of the lead advocates for the Energy Freedom Act. 

• Read more about the directive here via The State. 

There are at least two bills in the current 2019-2020 legislative session that seek changes on the commission:

• House Bill 3641: Introduced in January by Rep. Gary Clary, R-Pickens, this bill would require commissioners and staff to attend at least six hours of continuing education curriculum, allow and direct the audit of public utilities by the Office of Regulatory Staff, and impose nomination qualifications. It has been in the House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee since introduction.
• House Bill 4260: Introduced by Rep. Micah Caskey, R-Lexington, the Ratepayer Protection Act isn’t solely focused on the PSC.  But it includes stringent ethics requirements for commissioners. The House passed the bill 105-1 in March. It is now in the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

“It’s got to be a top priority to impose ethical restrictions so we can restore some confidence in the system but I’m also at a point where we need to more seriously consider wholesale renovations of the system,” Caskey said. “In my mind, we made it clear in the Energy Freedom Act that South Carolina should be a state that has a balanced portfolio of power generation.”

Caskey and others said more bills may be filed as the directive is finalized and lawmakers delve into the issue further. To be sure, the PSC has landed on the legislative radar. For Davis, though, he said he isn’t sure any reform can fix what he says is broken. 

“The PSC is almost beyond the legislature’s ability to cure,” he said, adding he would advocate for complete system reform. “We can’t fix it because the very model is flawed whenever you have a PSC passing on what consumers pay.”

Davis, who served as Gov. Mark Sanford’s chief of staff, said he wants the market dictates the price and move the state toward a regional transmission organization, rather than a “regulated monopoly.” Regional transmission organizations, implemented in about half of the country, are independent nonprofits that nonprofits optimize supply direct to consumers from wholesale electric power. Read more. 

In other S.C. news:

On protecting residents from lung cancer.  New research from the American Lung Association says states like South Carolina need to do more to protect residents from lung cancer and aid in cancer-patient recovery. South Carolina ranks 36th in the nation for incidence of lung cancer, making its incidence of lung cancer above the national average. The state ranks 32nd for survival rates, mean those diagnosed with lung cancer in S.C. are less likely to survive than the national average. The nonprofit says state lawmakers need to support early lung screenings and protect health care access for those with pre-existing conditions. Read more. 

ACLU hires new state director. The American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina has hired Frank Knaack as its next executive director. He will come on board in January. He most recently led the Montana Innocence Project and prior to that he led the Alabama Appleseed Center. He also has held positions at the National ACLU and at ACLU affiliates in Virginia and Texas. 

House budget writers release 2020 schedule. The budget schedule for the House Ways and Means Committee has been released. Budget subcommittee meetings begin Jan. 14 through Feb. 13.  The deadline for proviso submittals is Jan. 31. The state Board of Economic Advisers’ estimate on revenues is due Feb. 15. Full committee budget deliberations are expected to begin Feb. 17  with House floor budget deliberations projected to start March 9.

Senate Education Committee to talk overhaul Dec. 12. The second full-committee hearing on a sweeping overhaul bill for public education will take place 2 p.m. Dec. 12 in room 308 of the Gressette building on the Statehouse grounds in Columbia. Education Chair Greg Hembree, R-Horry, told Statehouse Report last week he is pushing the committee to give a favorable report for the bill originally passed by the House before the start of the 2020 legislative session Jan. 14. See agenda here.

Related: The committee’s education funding formula panel will meet 10 a.m. Dec. 4 in room room 308 of the Gressette building on the Statehouse grounds in Columbia. Read the agenda.

Public hearings on judicial merit selections. The Judicial Merit Selection Commission will hold public hearings Dec. 2-4 at 9:30 a.m. in room 105 of the Gressette building on the Statehouse grounds in Columbia. See the agenda here. 

2020 candidate calendar

Throughout the campaign season, we are working to keep South Carolina informed of candidate events in the state. Have an event you want us to know about? Email us at 2020news@statehousereport.com. 

Klobuchar makes 2-day swing in S.C. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar will attend events over two days in South Carolina:

• Filing for the S.C. primary: 3 p.m. Nov. 29 at 710 Heidt St., Columbia;
• Meet and greet 4 p.m. Nov. 29;
• Orangeburg County Democratic Party Breakfast 10 a.m. Nov. 30 at Williams Chapel AME in Orangeburg; and,
• Tour of Orangeburg businesses 11:30 a.m. Nov. 30 beginning at 1170 Fischer St. 

Buttigieg makes 3-day swing in S.C. South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg will attend five events over three days in South Carolina:

• Fight for $15 Action Fund Round Table 5 p.m. Dec. 1 in Charleston;
• Visit to Bowman Family Vineyards 11 a.m. Dec. 2 in Round O;
• Meet and greet with Allendale Democratic Party chair 2:30 p.m. Dec. 2 in Allendale;
• Visit to Orangeburg Massacre site 4 p.m. Dec. 2 at S.C. State University in Orangeburg; and,
• Latino Community Roundtable noon Dec. 3 at Las Palmas Bar and Grill in Okatie.
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