September 08, 2016
It’s a complicated agreement but it has two points.
S.C. Electric & Gas says it has agreed with critics to:
• Shield its customers from excessive nuclear plant construction cost overruns.
• Take less money for itself whenever it raises customer rates to cover financing costs of overruns.
The subsidiary of the $9 billion SCANA Corp. of Cayce announced the settlement with critics in its request to state regulators for a new rate increase.
It guarantees substantial completion of the plants in Fairfield County by August 2019 and August 2020
Spokesman Eric Boomhower said the agreement is subject to the regulators’ approval that SCE&G:
• Will not ask for changes in the approved cost of the plants before Jan. 28, 2019.
• Will cut the amount of increased costs originally sought about $20 million.
• Will lower from 10.5% to 10.25% its Return on Equity on increased rate requests beginning in 2017.
This is to save customers about $26 million construction financing costs.
“The settling parties agree that the terms of the settlement are in the public interest,” Boomhower wrote the Chronicle. “They are recommending that the commission approve the settlement agreement as a fair and full resolution of all issues.”