State-owned utility delays meeting because of questions over who its chairman is

Santee Cooper said Friday it is delaying its next board meeting because of questions about who is chairman of the state-owned utility.

Gov. Henry McMaster has named an ally, former S.C. Attorney General Charlie Condon of Charleston, to be the new chairman of the embattled utility, under fire for losing $4 billion on the failed V.C. Summer nuclear expansion project.

However, the state Senate sued, saying Condon’s appointment violated state law. The Senate votes up or down McMaster’s nominees to the board and has not acted on Condon’s nomination.

Santee Cooper said its decision to delay Monday’s board meeting had nothing to do with Condon or the merits of the Senate’s lawsuit but was “to maintain the integrity of the board’s governance and decision-making during this period of uncertainty.”

The utility noted the Senate’s lawsuit is before the S.C. Supreme Court and expressed hope the issue would be resolved soon.

McMaster forced out Santee Cooper’s previous chairman, Columbia attorney Leighton Lord, over the V.C. Summer debacle. The governor has said he wants the sell the utility — which supplies electricity to more than 2 million South Carolinians, directly and indirectly — to pay off its Summer-related debt.

This story was originally published August 17, 2018 at 3:32 PM.