Some lawmakers say S.C. has reached a power ‘crisis point’

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - State lawmakers and utilities warn South Carolina is now at a “crisis point” to ensure there’s enough energy to power its booming growth in population and industry.

Some leaders at the State House hope to soon enact a major piece of bipartisan legislation intended to address this – but it has some serious detractors.

“This is one of the most crucial issues that we face, and it’s real,” said House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter. “This is not hyperbole that we are about to run out of capacity to serve our citizens.”

Smith is the lead sponsor of a massive proposal called the “South Carolina 10-Year Energy Transformation Act.”

It would enact regulatory changes – including restructuring South Carolina’s Public Service Commission and streamlining the permitting process to get new sources of power online more quickly.

“We’re getting dangerously close to running out of being able to serve power needs of South Carolina, both from an industrial standpoint and a residential standpoint,” Smith said.

Smith says right now, South Carolina is importing power from Georgia and North Carolina to satisfy its needs.

But lawmakers say that might not be sustainable long-term – as those states are also experiencing rising population and industry needs.

A major component of this bill would give lawmakers’ blessing to the creation of a natural gas plant at a former coal plant site in Colleton County – a partnership between Dominion Energy and Santee Cooper.

“If Dominion and Santee Cooper partnering together to generate energy does not make your eyebrows raise, then you weren’t paying attention a few years ago,” said Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield.

That’s when privately owned SCE&G – Dominion’s predecessor – and state-owned Santee Cooper had teamed up for the V-C Summer nuclear power project north of Columbia.

The utilities pulled the plug on the project before it was finished – leaving ratepayers on the hook for billions in costs.

“This is significantly different. It’s not remotely related to what we’ve experienced before,” said Jimmy Staton, Santee Cooper president and CEO.

John Brooker, with Conservation Voters of South Caroline said: “What we’re seeing is, this is another megaproject, and megaprojects have their own perils.”

Conservation Voters of South Carolina and some other groups say this bill would roll back protections for the environment and ratepayers – steps that were taken to prevent a V-C Summer repeat.

“It gives utilities a green light to pursue projects of an unknown cost and unknown impact,” Brooker said.

Massey says the gas plant proposal isn’t necessarily a bad idea – but warrants extra scrutiny.

And he, too, is skeptical of attempts to repeal those protections – or to fast-track plans.

“These are generation-affecting decisions, and so you’ve got to make sure you get this right and it’s the best policy for the state going forward,” Massey said.

In a statement, Dominion Energy notes it would still need to go through a thorough regulatory process to get approval for the proposed gas plant.

It says partnering with Santee Cooper could reduce costs for customers and reduce the environmental footprint needed to replace coal generation for both.

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