New $5B Canadys natural gas plant receives approval from SC regulators

Dominion Energy and state-owned utility Santee Cooper can build a large natural gas plant in Colleton County, South Carolina’s Public Service Commission determined Thursday afternoon.

The 2,200 megawatt station received some opposition from members of the public and environmental groups over its $5 billion price tag and potential impact to the ACE Basin. Officials from Colleton County said the natural gas plant could bring economic opportunities to the region.

Dominion and Santee Cooper, which will split the cost and generated power, argued the new natural gas plant at Canadys would be necessary to meet larger energy demands. The Public Service Commission agreed the project was necessary and met environmental requirements.

“We have one obligation, and that is to serve the load,” Dominion president Keller Kissam told reporters in March. “So when you flip the light switch in the studio at home, the power comes on. And that’s what Canadys is about.”

The two utilities requested to build the plant in mid-December. Just under five months later, the project was approved. A new energy law, signed last year, required the Public Service Commission to make a decision on projects like the Canadys natural gas plant within six months of an application.

The energy law also allowed Dominion and Santee Cooper to work together on the Canadys natural gas plant together.

Environmental advocates and members of the public voiced concern about the plant’s potential to damage the ACE Basin and pollute the region. The plant will also require the build out of a 71-mile pipeline stretching across Colleton and Hampton counties, including through private properties.

Public Service Commission chairman Delton Powers said he understood environmental concerns associated with the plant.

“That is not the easiest one in the world for me to vote on, but I do support it. That is a very precious area we have in our state, and I don’t think there’s anything in the country that’s anything like it or near to the ACE Basin,” Powers said.

Some also worried the cost of the plant, which doubled between mid-2024 and the end of 2025, could show up on customer power bills. Dominion is requesting a rate hike but said earlier this year the Canadys project did not impact the proposed raise. Santee Cooper is also planning to raise residential electric rates by more than 9% over the next two years and said investment in the large natural gas plant contributed to the planned hike.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.