South Carolina Nuclear Reactors: SCE&G Customers Should Get Refunds, Lawmakers Say

COLUMBIA, SC — State lawmakers want to prevent South Carolina Electric & Gas from continuing to collect money for a now-scrapped nuclear power project that customers have been paying for since 2009.

The project's owners, SCE&G and state-owned Santee Cooper, decided Monday to end construction following the bankruptcy filing of its main contractor. The project accounts for 18 percent of SCE&G's residential electric bills and more than 8 percent of Santee Cooper's residential electric bills.

A 2007 state law allows electric utilities to collect money from customers to finance a project before it generates power and recoup costs, even if it's never operational. Utility executives said Tuesday none will get refunded and are asking state regulators for permission to recoup an additional $5 billion over 60 years. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

A bipartisan group of legislators announced Wednesday the creation of an Energy Caucus that will work to overhaul how utility requests are reviewed. Caucus members say the utility's request should be rejected, and customers should be refunded.

Rep. James Smith says the "catastrophic" end of the project north of Columbia shows the current regulatory process doesn't adequately protect South Carolinians.

Photo credit: Jeffrey Collins/Associated Press