Greenwood Index-Journal September 30, 2019 Upstate economy focus of Monday listening tour By ADAM BENSON abenson@indexjournal.com Five counties — Anderson, Greenville, Laurens, Pickens and Spartanburg — expect to see their ranks swell from 1.2 million people to 1.6 million by 2040. “That means we have a lot of challenges we’re going to have to work […]
Upstate Chamber Coalition supports selling Santee Cooper Read More »
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 threat of a restraining order
Opinion: Stop Santee Cooper’s bad management Read More »
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, ramp up energy efficiency programs,
Report: Close Santee Cooper coal plants to save money Read More »
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, respectively. For most of the
Commentary: Navigating utility crisis is key to SC’s energy future Read More »
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 hit was enormous. When Santee
TWO YEARS LATER: SANTEE COOPER STILL DOESN’T GET IT Read More »
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 father was a self-made businessman,
Santee Cooper needs to be sold Read More »
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. First, we do not want
It’s good to keep moving forward on Santee Cooper Read More »
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 accept offers to either purchase
State legislature approves plan to resolve Santee Cooper crisis Read More »
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 the debt and replace old,
Santee Cooper buyers face tougher decisions. Lawmakers want many guarantees on a sale. Read More »
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 to its failed $9 billion
Opinion: Emotional attachment leads to fear tactics Read More »
