I’m a business owner, and I’m excited about the Dominion deal

Small businesses thrive on certainty. It is the critical factor that allows them to grow, create new jobs and be active members of their communities. For more than five months, one major cost for businesses across our state has been very uncertain. That cost is electricity, which is vital to the health of any business.

The billions of dollars that have been shelled out over the failed project at the V.C. Summer nuclear plant have caused massive concern for the thousands of small businesses and all business owners in the state. As president and CEO of Snelling Staffing Services of the Midlands, I count myself among those concerned.

Fortunately, the coming together of Dominion Energy, a strong and healthy company, and SCANA, the parent company of SCE&G, will bring that certainty we need.

If Dominion Energy can help stabilize our electric bills by offering a cash payment to electric customers plus a 5 percent reduction in rates, we need to rally behind this deal.

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How awful would it really be if SCE&G went bankrupt?

Three ways the Dominion-SCE&G deal could fall apart

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Is this a perfect solution? Maybe not, but it will give us more certainty and provide faster elimination of the costs we have been shelling out for the failed nuclear units. I believe Dominion’s proposal and the surety it brings will put our state, and small businesses, on the best path forward.

The dollars that Dominion is returning to the ratepayers can be used by businesses to hire new workers, increase salaries, buy inventory or invest in new technology. And if the rates Dominion has offered will hold steady for the next three years, as the utility has promised, that is a very big deal to help small businesses flourish across the state. All of these steps can help small businesses in South Carolina grow in 2018 and beyond.

This story was originally published January 19, 2018 at 9:17 AM with the headline "I’m a business owner, and I’m excited about the Dominion deal."