Florence Morning News September 13, 2019 By Frank Knapp Jr. Guest Columnist Santee Santee Cooper’s recent fight with S.C. Sen. Hugh K. Leatherman Sr., other legislative leaders and the S.C. Department of Administration regarding the public utility’s “secret negotiations” with two private utilities has come to an end. Under the…
Report: Close Santee Cooper coal plants to save money
A nationally-leading firm Synapse Energy Economics recently conducted a study on Santee Cooper’s options for generating power in the future, with the goal of determining which path would be cheapest for customers. Conclusion: the cheapest plan is to shut down Santee Cooper’s expensive coal plants starting as soon as possible,…
Commentary: Navigating utility crisis is key to SC’s energy future
Charleston Post and Courier August 1, 2019 BY FRANK KNAPP JR. Two years ago, South Carolina received the worst financial news in its history. Santee Cooper and its partner SCE&G were abandoning construction of two nuclear reactors in Fairfield County, leaving the utilities $4 billion and $5 billion in debt,…
TWO YEARS LATER: SANTEE COOPER STILL DOESN’T GET IT
Palmetto Promise Institute July 31, 2019 By Oran P. Smith, Senior Fellow Two years ago today, Santee Cooper and SCE&G announced that they were abandoning construction of the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station units 2 and 3. The reactors were nowhere near complete though $9 billion had been spent. The financial…
Santee Cooper needs to be sold
Orangeburg Times and Democrat July 29, 2019 Santee Cooper needs to be sold By CRAIG ASCUE, Owner/Operator of Ascue’s Auto Body & Paint Shop in Mt. Pleasant, SC. One of the most significant lessons my father taught me can be boiled down to two simple words: attitude and accountability. My…
It’s good to keep moving forward on Santee Cooper
Statehouse Report May 24, 2019 By Frank Knapp, special to Statehouse Report Three months ago, the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce (SCSBCC) began advocating for the sale of the state utility, Santee Cooper, if our organization’s goals to save consumers money and protect the environment could be achieved.…
State legislature approves plan to resolve Santee Cooper crisis
May 22, 2019 Yesterday the S.C. General Assembly passed a Joint Resolution that sets in motion a process to determine if the heavily in-debt state utility, Santee Cooper, will be sold or managed by a private utility or kept as a reformed state agency. The SC Department of Administration will…
Santee Cooper buyers face tougher decisions. Lawmakers want many guarantees on a sale.
Lexington County Chronicle May 9, 2019 By Jerry Bellune Lawmakers hope Santee Cooper’s value – not it’s $8 billion debt – will attract a generous buyer. Whether the state sells or seeks other ways to dispose of the debt may depend on tough decisions by a buyer willing to liquidate…
Opinion: Emotional attachment leads to fear tactics
Lexington County Chronicle May 2, 2019 By Frank Knapp, Jr., Special to the Chronicle Last week the SC Small Business Chamber of Commerce conducted our 4th town hall on the possible sale of Santee Cooper. The taxpayer-owned utility is $7.2 billion to $8 billion in debt, with $4 billion due…
Listen to WRHI interview on Santee Cooper
Listen to my 4-23-19 WRHI interview on Santee Cooper with hosts Patti Mercer and Lucas McFadden.