Dominion delays scheduled rate request during coronavirus outbreak
Dominion Energy of South Carolina is delaying its request for an expected rate increase, citing the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
The request, which must be approved by the utility regulating Public Service Commission, was originally due on May 1, but the utility has pushed back its process by 60 days.
“Dominion Energy recognizes that there may never be an ideal time for a regulatory rate review,” Dominion spokeswoman Rhonda Maree O’Banion said in an email to The State. “With this unprecedented crisis created by the coronavirus that has impacted everyone’s lives in unimaginable ways, now is certainly not the time.”
Dominion had planned to put in place new rates, which would need to be reviewed and approved by the PSC, for its 755,500 customers on Jan. 1 of next year. The delay would push back rate changes until March 2021, according to the utility’s letter to the Public Service Commission, which oversees rate requests from regulated utilities.
Dominion has already waived late payment fees, ceased disconnections for lack of payment and waived reconnection fees to help ease the financial burden on its customers during the state’s outbreak of the coronavirus. As of Thursday, 1,554 people had test positive in South Carolina, and 31 had died.
Ultimately, Dominion’s request to push back their filing would just delay when its rate case would be handled and when it’s expected to ask for a rate increase to recover cost of investments in electric infrastructure carried out by SCE&G before it was acquired by Dominion.
There has not been a regulatory rate review since 2012 for Dominion’s South Carolina utility, formally owned by Cayce-based SCANA. Dominion bought SCANA in early 2019 in a merger that came on the heels of SCANA and its junior utility partner, state-owned Santee Cooper, pulling the plug on a plan to build two nuclear reactors in Fairfield County after the project accumulated billions of dollars in debt.
Dominion officials would not say Thursday by how much rates would go up if their request for a rate increase, once filed, is approved by regulators.
“It’s premature to say at this point what our rate filing will seek, but we continue to believe that the regulatory outcome will appropriately balance the interests of our customers and our shareholders,” O’Banion said. “Our current focus is on providing safe, reliable, affordable energy to our customers in these trying times, which is why we filed to delay the rate case.”
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhat you should know about the coronavirus
The coronavirus is spreading in the United States. Officials are urging people to take precautions to avoid getting sick, and to avoid spreading the disease if they do contract it.
Click the drop-down icon on this card for more on the virus and what you should do to keep yourself and those around you healthy.
What is coronavirus?
Coronavirus is an infection of the respiratory system similar to the flu. Coronaviruses are a class of viruses that regularly cause illnesses among adults and children, but this outbreak has spawned a new disease called COVID-19, a particularly harsh respiratory condition that can lead to death.
Health officials believe COVID-19 spread from animals to humans somewhere in China. It spreads among humans by physical person-to-person contact, including via coughs. That’s why health officials urge sick individuals to avoid contact with other people.
For more information, visit the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms are similar to the flu and include fever, coughing and shortness of breath.
How can I stop the spread of the coronavirus?
Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, and cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.
If you develop symptoms similar to the coronavirus, you should seek medical attention. Stay home from work or school and avoid contact with others. It can take up to 14 days after coming into contact with the virus to develop symptoms.
COVID-19 is a new condition and there’s much about the disease we still don’t understand. For now, taking precautions is the best way to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 3:05 PM.