In 2021, Act 90 (H.3194) reformed the governance, oversight, and regulation of the South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper). Act 90 also granted the PSC jurisdiction over certain activities conducted by Santee Cooper including:
- Service areas and corridor rights
- Construction of a major utility facility
- Acquisition of a major utility facility
- Purchased power contracts with a duration longer than 10 years
- Comprehensive Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs) and annual updates
- Competitive procurement process for renewable generation
Act 90 established a “Retail Rates Process” for the Santee Cooper board of directors to create or revise its retail rate schedules. As part of this public process, the ORS must review any rate adjustments proposed by Santee Cooper and submit comments to its board of directors for their consideration in determining rates. The Santee Cooper board of directors still has the authority to approve rates.
Each year, Santee Cooper submits to the ORS an annual pricing report. The ORS is required to issue comments on the annual pricing report to Santee Cooper’s board of directors and the PURC.
Santee Cooper Outdoor Lighting Program Review
The ORS prepared this Report pursuant to the request of the Plantation Lakes Property Owner’s Association, the Heritage Plantation Owner’s Association, and certain other Santee Cooper customers (POA/HOAs) for a review of Santee Cooper’s Private Outdoor Lighting Service and the related rates and underlying methodology.
Act 135 Monthly Reviews
Section 11 of Act 135 required that Santee Cooper be subject to monthly reviews by the ORS. The objective of the monthly review was to determine if Santee Cooper violated the terms contained in Section 11 subsection E of Act 135.
Act 135 allowed the Santee Cooper Oversight Committee to convene to consider and clarify any matter discovered by the ORS and determined to be in violation of the terms contained in subsection E.
Effective June 15, 2021, Section 24 of Act 90 of 2021 extended Section 11 through December 31, 2021 except that, among other things, the ORS was no longer required to conduct monthly reviews of Santee Cooper.
Act 95: ORS Report to the Department of Administration
On May 22, 2019, Governor McMaster signed into law Joint Resolution Act 95 (H.4287) that required the Department of Administration, among other tasks, to “[r]equire that the bidder’s projected ratebase for all of Santee Cooper’s retail customers exclude any portion of debt attributed to the V.C. Summer nuclear units 2 and 3 that is not considered to be used and useful as determined by the professional services experts and the Office of Regulatory Staff.”