New Session, New Hope for Energy Reform
With the launch of a brand new 2025-26 legislative session, all bills that did not pass in 2023-24 were officially pronounced dead. Unfortunately, energy generation expansion and reform were among the key areas that saw no movement in the last General Assembly. But a conversation between Senate and House had begun. That’s progress.
So, what is the prognosis for energy freedom in the 2025-26 session? To answer that question, it is important to understand the reforms proposed by Senator Tom Davis (R-Beaufort) in the last sitting of the legislature.
On January 9, 2024, Senator Tom Davis (R-Beaufort), introduced S.909, a proposal to modernize South Carolina’s energy system, making it more competitive, affordable, and reliable. With 25 Senate cosigners backing the initiative, S.909 gained momentum as Senators recognized the need for substantial energy reform. However, in April 2024, as the General Assembly was wrapping up, several senators emphasized the need to slow the speed of the energy debate to allow for adequate consideration, particularly given South Carolina’s history with energy initiatives. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey (R-Aiken) spoke in favor of taking no action on the energy bill that came over from the House and crafting a new bill throughout the fall, providing the Senate more time to deliberate and make an informed decision on the issue. Now, as the new General Assembly is underway, it is likely that the principles of S.909 will return to the fore.
South Carolina has had its fair share of successes and failures when rolling out nuclear projects. The ambitious 2008 V.C. Summer Nuclear Project—intended to expand the state’s energy capacity—is a cautionary tale of large-scale initiatives gone awry. Initially projected at $9.8 billion, costs ballooned to $25 billion before the project’s abrupt abandonment in 2017. The fallout left ratepayers to bear the burden, and, several years later, customers are still on the hook for the unsuccessful expansion of V.C. Summer and will be for the foreseeable future. (Santee Cooper’s total debt service requirements, including V.C. Summer debt, are projected to 2056.) Note: A group of Georgia utilities completed the Alvin W. Vogtle plant expansion at a cost of $36.8 billion in 2023-24.
For these reasons, we believe South Carolina legislators have a responsibility to protect the ratepayer, and any energy legislation must prioritize the interests of South Carolina citizens. Against this backdrop, the text of the old S.909 has emerged as a hopeful response not only to amend past missteps but also as a vision for a more resilient and independent energy future.
Key Aspects of Energy Reform Bill S.909 Include:
➤ Restructuring the Public Service Commission (PSC), reducing the number of PSC commissioners from seven to five to enhance efficiency and decision-making.
The Public Service Commission’s role is to promote reliable, affordable, and fair energy services through actions such as rate setting and oversight of resource planning, balancing consumer interests and utility providers’ needs. A smaller commission is intended to streamline PSC processes but a commission that is too small could be more susceptible to pressure from utilities. The bill also includes a requirement that the commissioners issue a rationale following each verbal directive. The South Carolina Public Service Commission approves rates for Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs). Rates for state-owned Santee Cooper are approved by its board of directors.
➤ Establishing an Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) to facilitate real-time electricity trading among utilities.
At its core, an EIM is designed to promote competition. The EIM enables energy providers to work together voluntarily to buy and sell excess electricity, ensuring that energy supply matches demand as closely as possible at any given moment. For South Carolina, this means utilities could welcome additional sources of generation. For example, if one utility (or Independent Power Producer [IPP]) generates excess power, it can sell that surplus to another utility facing higher demand.
Through a voluntary, free market approach, EIM has the potential to lower costs for consumers by reducing the need for utilities to maintain “standby” generation capacity to handle unexpected demand spikes. The competition within an EIM also incentivizes utilities to cooperate and innovate and find the cheapest, cleanest energy solutions. For South Carolina residents, this could mean more stable energy prices and a grid better equipped to handle extreme weather and other disruptions. The monopoly utilities in the Southern region claim to have created such a market, but in reality they have instead instituted a closed market that shields them from oversight and competition.
➤ Encouraging utilities, including Dominion Energy and Duke Energy, to develop natural gas-fired combined cycle generation facilities and explore Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in nuclear plants.
SMRs are a safer, more flexible, and more cost-effective alternative to traditional nuclear plants. Among other benefits, their small size allows for incremental deployment and location flexibility. SMRs are a practical choice to meet South Carolina’s growing energy demands. Read more about the incredible potential of SMRs in our 2024 report here.
➤ Permitting the South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper) to jointly own electric generation and transmission facilities with investor-owned utilities.
This is intended to foster collaboration in energy development and optimize resource utilization. Santee Cooper is a state agency.
➤ Streamlining the permitting process for new energy infrastructure projects, including natural gas facilities, to meet growing demand more efficiently.
Simplified permitting can accelerate the deployment of energy projects, paving the way for more generation, natural gas facilities, and energy storage solutions.
➤ Expanding demand-side management programs, encouraging energy efficiency and conservation.
An aspect of the management program would require electrical utilities to provide annual reports to the PSC updating the commissioners (and essentially the public) on the progress of each management program, with the goal to increase needed transparency and accountability.
➤ Providing remote net metering which would allow certain entities to offset their electricity needs through renewable energy resources located offsite.
External resources would increase access to renewable energy options for a broader range of consumers. (Palmetto Promise Institute is not comfortable with many aspects of net metering. More to come on that in future publications.)
➤ Establish the “PowerSC Innovation Fund” to create a South Carolina Energy Innovation Hub.
The PowerSC Innovation Fund would award grants on a competitive basis to support research, development, and deployment of innovative technologies within SC.
Palmetto Promise Energy Reform Roadmap | Energy Reform Bill S.909 |
| Create a South Carolina Energy Imbalance Market (SCEIM report here). | Promote competition through Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) and encourage diverse energy generation methods. |
| Lower customer rates across all three sectors; residential, industrial, and commercial. Lower generation and transmission costs. | Competition through Energy Imbalance Market aims to lower generation and transmission costs, reducing ratepayer burden. |
| Incentivize development of small nuclear reactors (SMRs report here). | Encourage utilities to explore SMRs, aiming to diversity and modernize the state’s energy infrastructure. |
| Incentivize natural gas generation. | Support development of natural gas-fired combined cycle generation facilities. |
| Decentralize energy systems and support microgrids to improve resilience. | Does not address. |
| Empower consumers with increased choice in their energy providers. | Includes greater choice for large consumers, such as select businesses (RStreet Institute). |
By focusing on nuclear innovation, natural gas generation, and a platform for competitive energy trading, the principles of 2023-24 bill S.909 lead to a comprehensive approach to modernizing South Carolina’s energy landscape. The measures outlined in Senator Davis’s bill are intended to not only prepare the state for future energy demands but also promote the broader goal of energy independence. For residents, the bill could translate into cleaner energy, greater reliability, and more affordable utility bills in the long run.
Yet, the path to implementation requires careful navigation to ensure that all stakeholders—commercial, industrial, and residential customers alike—benefit equitably. The South Carolina General Assembly must remain engaged on the energy freedom issue to ensure that decisions on the future of South Carolina energy prioritize the interests of the people by granting them more options and lower prices.
For more information on Palmetto Promise Institute’s energy recommendations, check out our Energy Freedom Agenda and our Roadmap for Energy Reform.
