On March 10, 2021, the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSC) directed all regulated, investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities to provide information regarding measures that have been, or will be taken, to:
- mitigate the negative impacts of ice storms and other dangerous weather conditions to the provision of safe and reliable utility service, and
- ensure peak customer demands on the utility system can be met during extreme weather scenarios.
The PSC also encouraged the South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper), the electric cooperatives, and other non-regulated electric and gas utilities in South Carolina to participate in the assessment.
Utilities are being asked to provide, at a minimum, the following information and assessments:
- Identification of threats to utility service
- Identification of the impacts to utility service
- Assessment of vulnerabilities
- Assessment of risks to utility service
- Identification of resiliency solutions
- Identification of other federal and state reliability requirements
- Assessment of current utility processes and systems to withstand potential ice storms and other winter weather conditions
- Identification of best practices, lessons learned, and challenges to utility service
To proceed in a timely manner, while also allowing participating stakeholders sufficient time to provide their comments and input, the following schedule has been set:
March 12, 2021 ORS Provides Notice of this Proceeding to South Carolina Regulated and Non-regulated Electric and Natural Gas Utilities
March 12, 2021 ORS Posts Notice of this Proceeding on its Website
June 11, 2021 Interested Parties Submit Initial Comments
June 25, 2021 Interested Parties Submit Responsive Comments