Monday letters: SCE&G didn’t deserve rate hike

It is rate increase time again. In the past seven years, SCE&G utility rates have increased nearly 31 percent. The newest rate hike (2.8 percent) will add nearly $50 per year onto the typical bill. The Public Service Commission should have denied the electric giant’s request and protected taxpayers. This is just one in what is expected to be a series of rate hikes over the next five years.

Recently I announced my run for Lexington County Council because government should be more transparent and accountable, but transparency and accountability do not end with government.

Public utilities should not be allowed to pass on increased construction costs due to fabrication, design and contractor problems, which should have been foreseen and prevented. I urged the PSC to deny this rate hike, which is permitted when a project is imprudently managed. Taxpayers need protection from those who do not have their best interests in mind.