STOP THE BLANK CHECK
Making utilities accountable to the people they serve
Press Release
From: Coalition to STOP THE BLANK CHECK
Date: August 8, 2016
Contact: Mandy Bidinger, 803-252-5733, amanda@scsbc.org
Frank Knapp Jr., South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, 803-252-5733 (o), (803) 600-6874 (c), fknapp@scsbc.org
Lynn Teague, League of Women Voters, (803) 556-9802, teague_l@bellsouth.net
Ben Wislinski, Sierra Club, (202) 870-3188, wislinski@gmail.com
Columbia, SC – The STOP THE BLANK CHECK coalition efforts to amend the Base Load Review Act next year took on significant new urgency last Wednesday. That is when the Duke Energy’s plan on building two nuclear plants near Gaffney took one more step toward approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission later this year. The Commission found no safety issues for the proposed plants.
“All eyes have been on SCE&G and Santee Cooper building two nuclear plants in Fairfield County that are three years behind schedule and billions over budget,” said Frank Knapp, president of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce. “Duke Energy wants to build its nuclear plants using the same state law that has turned into a blank check for the SCE&G. We must learn from our legislative mistakes and correct them to protect Duke customers down the road.”
The STOP THE BLANK CHECK coalition (www.stoptheblankcheck.net) is also advocating for a lesser SCE&G rate hike this year and a smaller increase in construction costs for the nuclear project. Both will be subject to Public Service Commission approval this fall.
Coalition members are: South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, South Carolina League of Women Voters, South Carolina Sierra Club, National Association of Social Workers-SC Chapter, New Alpha Community Development Corporation, Sustainable Midlands, Carolina Peace Resource Center, Kingdom Living Temple and the Whitney M. Slater Foundation.
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