SCE&G power rate cut: Why, when and how much?
South Carolina Electric & Gas customers will see their power bills drop this month after a federal judge ruled in favor Monday of rate cuts approved by state lawmakers and regulators.
The rates being cut temporarily are tied to the $9 billion nuclear reactor project canceled a year ago.
Here’s what 700,000 SCE&G customers — as well as corporate shareholders — need to know:
What’s being cut from my bill?
Rates are dropping by 15 percent starting Tuesday.
Why is the rate cut not permanent?
The state Public Service Commission needs until the end of the year to decide whether to cut all or some of the charges related to the failed nuclear plant expansion for good.
Lawmakers did not want to wait so long to give SCE&G customers a break on their bills, so they passed a temporary 15 percent rate cut over the objections of SCE&G.
When the cut was approved by regulators, SCE&G moved quickly to block it in federal court but failed.
Will this impact the proposed sale of SCE&G’s parent SCANA Corp. to Dominion Energy?
Perhaps.
Any news involving SCANA’s power rates adds complications to Virginia-based Dominion’s $14.6 billion bid to buy the Cayce utility. SCANA will pay about $270 million for the rate cuts.
Yet SCANA stock had risen in recent days after a sharp fall while lawmakers debated the utility’s rates. But shares dropped by 5 percent in after-hours trading soon after the court decision was announced Monday.
Even with all the uncertainty about rates, Dominion is still trying to woo customers with promises of a $1,000 rebate and lower rates if state regulators approve the sale.
What remains unclear is how much of a hit to SCANA’s bottom line will it take to kill the sale of the state’s largest publicly traded company.
https://www.postandcourier.com/news/sce-g-power-rate-cut-why-when-and-how-much/article_0a1dc240-99c0-11e8-92c5-ab07054a1041.html
