Utility chief: we may pull the plug on coal-fired plant

Santee Cooper’s board chairman said Friday the utility might not need a coal-fired power plant in the Pee Dee region if a handful of South Carolina electric cooperatives buy their power from rival Duke Energy.

O.L. Thompson, who heads the 11-member governing board, said the panel is expected to take action Monday on whether to allow a representative of the cooperatives, which are supplied by Santee Cooper, to strike a deal with Duke on their behalf.

If five Upstate cooperatives begin receiving energy from Duke instead of Santee Cooper, it will free capacity for his utility, Thompson said.

“If that load comes off, we may not need Pee Dee,” Thompson said of the proposed Florence County power plant. “If the economy stays like it’s projected to stay, that might be enough to keep us out of Pee Dee.”

Santee Cooper has long said it needs the $2.2 billion power station to meet future demands until a new nuclear plant can be built north of Columbia. But critics say the slow economy, the environmental impact of burning coal and expensive new federal regulations make it important to abandon the complex along the Great Pee Dee River.

Thompson spoke with The State a day after the newspaper reported Duke was in discussions to supply power to cooperatives Santee Cooper serves.

The chairman said he doubts the Santee Cooper board would vote Monday to drop the coal plant or make a final decision any time soon because the Duke agreement might take time.

But he said the utility “might delay it or put it on hold.”

Thompson asked agency staff last month to reassess Santee Cooper’s energy needs. He said the staff may make a recommendation on the coal plant.

Santee Cooper supplies power to Central Electric Power Cooperative, which then provides the energy to 20 individual cooperatives. In turn, those cooperatives supply customers in rural and suburban areas. The cooperatives provide power to about 700,000 customers, or more than 1 million people.

Shifting from Santee Cooper to Duke could be cheaper than building a new coal-fired power plant, say people familiar with the proposal .

Five cooperatives, including Blue Ridge Electric of Anderson and York Electric, formerly received power through Duke, headquartered in Charlotte, instead of Santee Cooper, which mostly supplies power to eastern South Carolina.

Dana Beach, director of the S.C. Coastal Conservation League, said he is encouraged that Santee Cooper might scrap the plant.

“This is very excellent news about the potential Duke agreement,” he said.

The league, one of South Carolina’s most influential environmental groups, has led the charge against the plant, saying it would pollute the air and water of eastern South Carolina.

The plant would be on the banks of the Great Pee Dee River near Pamplico and Kingsburg. It would release mercury and tons of greenhouse gases into the air each year. The river already has fish polluted by enough mercury to make them unsafe for some people to eat. A federal report released this week said mercury levels in eastern South Carolina’s fish are among the highest in the country.

At least one power unit would be built as part of the Great Pee Dee power station, but Santee Cooper has sought environmental permits for two units. All told, the operation would cost about $2.2 billion to construct. The state Department of Health and Environmental Control has approved a key air permit, but water and wetlands permits are pending.

Reach Fretwell at (803) 771-8537.