Templeton echoes call for agency chief to resign over nuclear project

S.C. gubernatorial hopeful Catherine Templeton is echoing a call for the state agency chief charged with protecting power customers to resign amid fallout from a failed nuclear project.

Templeton, in a news release to The State, said she was calling for the resignation of Dukes Scott, executive director of the Office of Regulatory Staff, which oversees utilities.

With Scott at the oversight agency’s helm, Cayce-based SCANA requested and received nine rate increases on customers to pay for the nuclear reactors under construction in Fairfield County until the utility recently abandoned those plans.

Scott could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

However, Scott told senators last week that “there was no lawful way” to oppose the rate hikes because regulators were hamstrung by the Base Load Review Act, a 2007 law that shifted the financial risk of building the reactors from utilities to their customers.

Templeton is aiming to unseat Gov. Henry McMaster in the race for the GOP nomination for governor. McMaster defended Scott last week. Her call for Scott’s resignation follows the same request last week from S.C. House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington.

This story was originally published August 30, 2017 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Templeton echoes call for agency chief to resign over nuclear project."