SC senator could face conflict in nuclear debate, leaving 100,000 constituents without a voice

Fallout from the abandonment of two unfinished nuclear reactors in Fairfield County could create an ethical dilemma for a lawyer-legislator who is suing SCANA.

That legislator, state Sen. Vincent Sheheen, says he will take any necessary steps to avoid a conflict of interest. But that could leave Sheheen’s roughly 110,000 constituents without a voice in the Senate’s debate over the nuclear debacle, one government watchdog notes.

The Kershaw Democrat is among a group of attorneys who have filed suit against SCANA on behalf of its power customers. Those customers have been charged $1.7 billion for the failed V.C. Summer nuclear expansion project, managed by SCE&G, a SCANA subsidiary.

The $9 billion venture was scuttled in July after years of cost overruns and construction delays. The S.C. Senate and House have convened special panels to investigate what went wrong.

When legislators return to Columbia in January, they are likely to consider changing state laws that affect utilities including SCANA. Those changes could include repealing the Base Load Review Act, the 2007 law that enabled SCANA to charge its customers for the reactors while they were under construction.

If passed, the changes could affect SCANA’s financial standing, including its ability to pay Sheheen’s clients should they win their lawsuit, said John Crangle, a lawyer and longtime government watchdog.

“Vince has every interest in trying to keep SCANA alive and trying to keep maximum revenue flowing to it so there is money to pay a judgment to his clients,” Crangle said.

As a result, Sheheen needs to recuse himself from Senate debates and votes concerning SCANA in order to avoid an ethical conflict, Crangle said.

“Sen. Sheheen will recuse himself from voting on any matters which present a conflict of interest under ethics rules,” Antjuan Seawright, a political adviser to Sheheen, said in a statement to The State. “And he will confer with ethics counsel if any related matters come up to be voted on.”

Sheheen’s state lawsuit, filed by 10 Fairfield County residents who want to be certified as representing all SCANA customers, seeks damages for more than $1 billion in charges to customers.

The potential dilemma, Crangle said, is one of the “integral consequences to having part-time legislators” in South Carolina.

“So, 110,000 people in a Senate district don’t have any voice from their senator in terms of what goes on in debate, in discussion and in voting,” Crangle said. “You’re basically not a player in that process if you’re a constituent in that district.”

This story was originally published September 6, 2017 at 4:36 PM with the headline "SC senator could face conflict in nuclear debate, leaving 100,000 constituents without a voice."