Electric co-ops say they hired SC lawmaker for his legal prowess, not his influence

An influential state senator has been hired by South Carolina's electric cooperatives as a consultant in a lawsuit the co-ops have filed against the state-owned Santee Cooper utility.

Good-government advocates say state Sen. Brad Hutto's contract with the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina could become problematic if and when the Senate debates solutions to South Carolina's nuclear fiasco and, especially, Santee Cooper's role in it.

The Orangeburg Democrat disagrees. The president of the co-op association says Hutto was hired for his legal acumen, not his position as a state lawmaker.

Hutto was hired to advise the state's 20 electric co-ops when their power supplier, the Central Electric Power Cooperative, said on Feb. 23 it would sue Santee Cooper to prevent it from charging any more for a failed nuclear construction project.

Central buys three-fifths of Santee Cooper's power and distributes it to the 20 co-ops.

Hutto told The State newspaper on Friday that he has been hired to work with those co-ops and their attorneys, briefing them on legal proceedings in the Central case, answering questions and making sure their interests are represented. Hutto said he has not been hired to file lawsuits or argue them in court.

Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina President Mike Couick said Hutto was hired, in part, because he impressed the co-ops while bringing a 2009 class-action lawsuit against them on behalf of electric customers. “There’s no better way to find out how good a lawyer is than watch one that sues you."

Hutto understands how the co-ops operate and has working relationships with them, Couick said. Nineteen of the co-ops have signed on for Hutto's advice, Couick said, while the Black River Electric Cooperative in Sumter opted out of the arrangement.

But some observers say the relationship could become problematic in possible state Senate debates about Santee Cooper's role in the nuclear debacle.

So far, the Senate mostly has focused on the question of whether Santee Cooper's senior partner on the nuclear project, Cayce-based SCE&G, should be allowed to continue to charge its customers for two useless nuclear reactors.

But at some point this year, lawmakers could begin considering the sale of Santee Cooper itself, which Republican Gov. Henry McMaster has proposed as a way to wipe out the utility's $8 billion in debt — half of which is attributable to the failed Summer project.

Also, the co-ops have said they could make a bid to buy at least part of Santee Cooper.

Any sale of Santee Cooper would have to be approved by the S.C. House and state Senate.

Lynn Teague, with the S.C. League of Women Voters, said Hutto might need to recuse himself from debates over Santee Cooper's future, since one of his legal clients — the co-ops — has significant financial ties to the Moncks Corner-based power company.

Hutto said he doesn't perceive an ethical conflict because he isn't being paid to consult the co-ops on Santee Cooper's possible sale or their potential bid for the utility.

"I'm not advising them on that," Hutto said. "My only role is related to the litigation. They don't include me in those conversations."

Teague isn't convinced. "Any legislation would certainly be affected by the lawsuit, and the lawsuit might be affected by that sale," he said.

John Crangle, a longtime government watchdog who now lobbies for the S.C. Progressive Network, said the only way to prevent such questions is to offer state lawmakers a full-time salary and require them to give up their day jobs and business clients.

“It’s one of the problems you have when you have a part-time amateur Legislature, where they get a small amount of money from the state for their service in the Legislature and a large amount from the private entities that have business before the Legislature," Crangle said.

Couick would not say how much his association is paying Hutto. But he said it is a reasonable rate, in line with what the co-ops have paid other outside attorneys.

This story was originally published March 23, 2018 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Electric co-ops say they hired SC lawmaker for his legal prowess, not his influence."