In Final Days Of Session, South Carolina Lawmakers Seek To Help Ratepayers Facing Billions In Debt

Energy
News · April 14, 2018

This article was written by Patrick Gleason and originally published by Forbes on April 14, 2018. In a debacle that Governing Magazine refers to as “one of the greatest wastes of money in any state’s history,” South Carolina lawmakers are scrambling to address a situation in which Santee Cooper, an 80 year old state-owned utility, and South

Report: Santee Cooper bills could rise by up to $750 a year

Energy
News · March 21, 2018

This article was originally published in the Columbia Business Report on March 21, 2018. An economic analysis by a conservative S.C. think tank suggests that Santee Cooper residential utility bills could increase by anywhere from $167 to $750 annually until the state-owned utility’s V.C. summer-related debt is paid off in 2056. The study, commissioned by the Palmetto Promise Institute, projected

New report shows dangers of state holding on to Santee Cooper

Energy
News · March 21, 2018

This article was originally published in the Index-Journal on March 21, 2018. It’s been called the largest financial disaster in South Carolina’s history. But just how devastating could things get for Santee Cooper customers if they’re left fully exposed to the utility’s multi-billion debt load borne out of the failed VC Summer nuclear generation project?

Failed nuclear project will raise customers’ power bills, Santee Cooper says

Energy
News · March 21, 2018

This article originally appeared in the The State on March 21, 2018. Santee Cooper said Wednesday that it expects its electric rates likely will rise 7 percent because of its failed nuclear project. A conservative think tank warned Tuesday that S.C. residents served by the state-owned utility could see their power bills soar almost 14

Santee Cooper electric rates will rise sharply because of nuclear project

Energy
News · March 20, 2018

This article originally appeared in the Post & Courier on March 20, 2018. Santee Cooper’s electric rates will rise sharply as the bills for its failed nuclear project come due, more than doubling the monthly payments its customers make into the unfinished reactors. That’s the finding of a new study of Santee Cooper’s future rates

House wants income tax reform to conform

Tax & Budget
News · March 16, 2018

This originally appeared in the Statehouse Report on March 16, 2018. By Lindsay Street, Statehouse correspondent South Carolina could get its first real shot at income tax reform this session or next after more than a decade of talk, said Speaker Pro Tem Tommy Pope, R-York. That’s thanks to a little-known, annual adjustment called conformity

TAYLOR: 6th-lowest residential property taxes? Not so fast, S.C.

Tax & Budget
News · March 9, 2018

This originally appeared on the Statehouse Report on March 9, 2018. By Joe E. Taylor Jr., special to Statehouse Report The Columbia Business Report recently wrote about a study from WalletHub.com, which claimed that South Carolinians pay the sixth-lowest residential property taxes in the nation. That sounds great. But sadly for taxpayers, it’s not the whole story.