nuclear-news

2018 Newsmaker: V.C. Summer Nuclear Debacle

V.C. Summer nuclear cancellation costs SC residents billions https://www.postandcourier.com/news/v-c-summer-nuclear-cancellation-costs-sc-residents-billions/article_5e47be44-f711-11e8-b849-7fd4061473e5.html

·      By Andrew Brown abrown@postandcourier.com,24 Dec18

·         Electric customers with South Carolina Electric & Gas got stuck paying another $2.3 billion for two unfinished nuclear reactors at V.C. Summer station in Fairfield County this year.

·         The state’s regulators on the Public Service Commission ruled that SCE&G’s parent company, SCANA Corp., could charge customers for the failed South Carolina nuclear project and approved Dominion’s takeover of the utility in December.

·         It capped off a year-long struggle between the utility company and the Office of Regulatory Staff, the state’s utility watchdog agency.

·         The $9 billion nuclear boondoggle was cancelled last year, but the financial fiasco continued to consume the state’s political and legal systems in 2018.

·         The public service commission’s ruling largely seals the fate of SCE&G customers, but the future of Santee Cooper, the minority owner of the failed project, remains up in the air.

·         The legislature is preparing to consider whether to sell Santee Cooper, a state-run utility. Meanwhile, federal law enforcement officials continue to probe the debacle and explore possible criminal charges.