nuclear-news

COLUMBIA — Santee Cooper on Monday received final approval for a $520 million legal settlement with its customers over its failure to complete an expansion of the V.C. Summer nuclear plant in Fairfield County.

The deal, approved by former S.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal, ends a standoff over how much customers must pay for that unfinished power plant, a project abandoned by Santee Cooper in July 2017 after years of escalating costs and construction delays.

The settlement also greatly diminishes the chance Santee Cooper could be sold by lawmakers after the $9 billion nuclear debacle — one of the greatest business failures in state history.

It puts refunds into the pockets of customers who have paid higher power bills for the V.C. Summer project, as well as substantial fees for the attorneys who argued the case against the project’s owners.

The deal requires Santee Cooper freeze its electric rates for four years and pay $200 million to its ratepayers, including members of South Carolina’s 20 electric cooperatives who purchase the utility’s power indirectly.

The rate freeze, the plaintiff attorneys argued, could be worth up to $510 million to Santee Cooper’s customers on its own.

Another $320 million would be supplied by Dominion Energy, the Virginia-based company that last year purchased S.C. Electric & Gas — Santee Cooper’s partner on the nuclear project.

The deal requires Santee Cooper freeze its electric rates for four years and pay $200 million to its ratepayers, including members of South Carolina’s 20 electric cooperatives who purchase the utility’s power indirectly.

The rate freeze, the plaintiff attorneys argued, could be worth up to $510 million to Santee Cooper’s customers on its own.

Another $320 million would be supplied by Dominion Energy, the Virginia-based company that last year purchased S.C. Electric & Gas — Santee Cooper’s partner on the nuclear project.