SC utilities aren’t the only monopolies responsible for our nuclear fiasco

South Carolinians are being given a rare opportunity — nearly as rare as the recent solar eclipse — to view the symbiotic relationship of three monopolies.

The executives of one monopoly — the energy utilities in our state (SCANA and Santee Cooper) — have been appearing publicly before a committee composed of the elected representatives from the other two monopolies: the Republican and Democratic political parties. The former is given special prerogatives and privileges by the latter. In turn, the latter are given corporate and personal financial resources to attain and retain elected office. Each monopoly has a safe monopolistic territory: the state of South Carolina for the utilities and carefully drawn gerrymandered districts for the two political parties.

The symbiotic relationship of the three monopolies is governed by a shared priority of protecting and advancing their highly advantageous status quo.

The only reason this relationship is now publicly on display is because the arrogance and incompetence of the executives and boards of the utility monopoly reached a level that spawned results that created a public outcry over wasted billions of dollars and mistreated consumers and workers. This has, in turn, required the political monopolies to respond in ways that appear to be now, after the fact, responsive to the needs and grievances of consumers, workers and taxpayers.

The stagecraft we see in the legislative hearings is classic. The utility monopoly representatives steadfastly maintain that they acted “prudently” and without blame. The political monopolies’ committee members posture with various combinations of outrage and righteousness indignation.

Observers tell me you can almost taste the mutual contempt of the parties represented in the legislative hearing room during the sessions. You have the enabling political representatives, full of contempt for the utility representatives, whom they believe created this unnecessarily embarrassing and uncomfortable public crisis of confidence. You also have the utility representatives, equally contemptuous of the hypocrites seated before them who willingly took money and other favors from SCANA and its employees (and possibly Santee Cooper employees) and who are now grandstanding and, in some instances, even acting as class-action lawyers in potentially lucrative lawsuits against them.

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There’s no way this ends well for ratepayers

How SCANA spent $1.25 million at State House before nuclear project collapsed

Here’s who voted to give SCE&G a blank check

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Despite the acrimony, the result that all three monopolies wish for is that this controversy, and the public scrutiny it invites, will quickly go away. Predictably, the executives and their boards will propose some type of compromise that provides some level of “relief” to their ratepayers while preserving their monopoly, jobs and bonuses. The enablers, on the other hand, will agree to some legislative action designed to make this scenario less likely in the future and to ameliorate their responsibility for the present debacle.

Also, predictably, most of the legislators who have accepted money from utilities and their employees will not return the donations. A few have, and perhaps a few more will hand the money back. I hope voters will decide to differentiate between the two groups in 2018.

By the way, when the media asked some legislators about the donations they had received from utilities and/or utility employees, they professed ignorance as to the amounts or instances. This was after weeks of public discussion and attention to the issue. Why would any of us allow individuals with that degree of inattention to financial details to be within arm’s length of our tax dollars?

I began by comparing the rarity of this public glimpse into the dynamics of corporate and political dependencies with that of an opportunity to witness a solar eclipse. Perhaps it is also appropriate to offer contrasting advice to the viewer of each:

We all know that we should never look directly at the sun for an extended period during a solar eclipse. But for an unvarnished glimpse of political and corporate shared dysfunctionality, maintain your focus while taking and insisting upon corrective action.

This story was originally published October 3, 2017 at 1:17 PM with the headline "SC utilities aren’t the only monopolies responsible for our nuclear fiasco."