SCANA should stop charging its customers for failed nuclear project, governor says

S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster asked SCANA to stop charging its customers for two now-abandoned nuclear reactors in Fairfield County.

In a letter Thursday to SCANA chief executive officer Kevin Marsh, McMaster asked SCANA and its subsidiary, SCE&G, “to immediately cease collecting approximately $37 million per month from ratepayers for its abandoned nuclear project.”

McMaster also urged SCANA to use roughly $1 billion it is set to receive from a settlement with Toshiba — the parent company of the now-bankrupt Westinghouse, which was the lead contractor building the nuclear reactors — “to begin refunding to ratepayers” money already collected for the construction project.

“It is unreasonable and oppressive for SCANA to require its customers to bear the burden of actions and decisions in which customers played no part and over which they had no control,” McMaster wrote in the letter.

About 18 percent of SCE&G customers’ power bills now go to pay for the two unfinished nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer plant in Jenkinsville.

The Cayce-based power company is under fire for its failure to complete the reactors and for enormous cost overruns. SCE&G customers have paid $1.7 billion of those costs. State, federal and legislative investigations are under way into what went wrong.

McMaster’s request is just that – a request. The Richland Republican has no authority to force SCANA, or its board, to lower customer’s rates. However, the show of solidarity with SCANA’s customers could help McMaster win supporters as he faces three challengers in next June’s GOP primary for governor.

On Wednesday, McMaster said his goal is to make sure “customers who put the money into these reactors are not left holding the bag.”

The letter marks another example of how McMaster has grown critical of the utility since it announced on July 31 that it was abandoning the nuclear project.

SCANA and its employees have been generous contributors to the governor’s 2018 campaign and courted the state’s top official after he took office in January.

We are aware of the letter dated Oct. 19, 2017 from Gov. McMaster to Kevin Marsh.

In an email state Thursday, SCANA noted “the request in the letter is essentially the same as that recently expressed by the Office of Regulatory Staff,” which has asked the Public Service Commission to order SCANA to cease charging its customers for the V.C. Summer project.

SCANA added: “As we have consistently communicated, SCE&G intends to utilize the net value of the Toshiba parental guaranty payments to mitigate the cost of the abandoned project to customers. We hope that we will be able to engage in a discussion for a comprehensive settlement of the issues related to the project and how to further mitigate the impact on our customers.”

This story was originally published October 19, 2017 at 1:13 PM with the headline "SCANA should stop charging its customers for failed nuclear project, governor says."