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SCANA Corp. agreed to a $ 2 billion settlement with customers of S.C., who charged high electricity rates for a failed nuclear power plant project.
And, in a new twist, the legal agreement gives SCE & G's customers the golden parachutes of $ 115 million reserved for SCANA executives who will soon be overthrown. It also requires the sale of a number of non-core SCANA properties that could offer SCE & G customers an additional $ 70 million or more, according to a lawyer involved.
However, the settlement – announced Saturday by SCANA, a Cayce-based company – is not a done deal.
It depends on a judge and the decision of the S.C. Public Service Commission to approve the proposed purchase by Dominion Energy, a Virginia-based company, of SCANA, the parent company of SCE & G.
As part of the takeover, Dominion proposed to reduce SCE & G 's electricity – billed electricity rates by $ 22 per month, allowing its 730,000 customers to operate on the market. electricity to earn more than $ 2 billion.
This is what SCE & G's customers have paid in the form of higher energy bills for the V.C. Out of order. Extension project of the summer nuclear power station. This also corresponds to what taxpayers were looking for from SCE & G in terms of nuclear restitution, according to Pete Strom, a lawyer representing SCE & G taxpayers.
"This is basically our version of Bernie Madoff's situation," said Strom. "We have bad actors who did a bad job at SCANA. As a result, hundreds of millions of dollars are lost. … We made the most money and did something attractive to Dominion. "
The regulation aims to solve a legal fire on SCE & G customers' excessive energy bills since July 2017, when the Cayce-based utility company canceled its $ 9 billion investment for the construction of two other nuclear reactors at the Vancouver site. Summer nuclear station in Fairfield County.
SCE & G's clients have disbursed more than $ 2 billion in higher electricity bills to fund the now-abandoned project. The impact on SCE & G's highest energy bill in the region was noticeable.
After nine tariff increases, about one-fifth of SCE & G customers' electricity bills were paid for the project. It costs about $ 27 a month to the typical residential customer.
As soon as SCE & G canceled the project, its customers wanted to recover their $ 2 billion. They have sued for reimbursements and their usefulness as fraud and negligence.
The settlement announced Saturday could put an end to this legal battle.
He came down with Attorney General S. Wilson, a Republican from Lexington who issued a non-binding opinion last September that the 2007 law that allowed the Supreme Court the summer and his nine rate increases were unconstitutional.
Wilson thanked Dominion Energy "for its willingness to provide the financial resources necessary to effect this restitution. It is important to note that Dominion Energy has not been involved in creating this situation and we appreciate its role in seeking a resolution that best serves the interests of SCE & G taxpayers. "
Wilson said he believed the $ 2 billion settlement was the largest of its kind in BC history, but had hinted that his office was still investigating the failure of the nuclear project. .
"This milestone puts an end to our quest for restitution to taxpayers, but does not end our investigation of the various players who may have contributed to the project's failure," Wilson said. "We want to acknowledge the hard work of private sector lawyers who fought hard to defend the interests of taxpayers through various legal actions brought on behalf of SCE & G Ratepayers.
Strom, the former US lawyer for South Carolina, also said the investigation into potential criminal acts by SCANA executives was probably not over.
"At the end of the day, real justice will be done for those who have committed crimes," Strom said. "I would be surprised if there were no charges."
As part of this settlement, SCANA has agreed to sell its power utility customers a $ 115 million trust that it had reserved for executives if they lost their jobs when Dominion took control. The money that was formerly reserved for executives could now be distributed to customers in the form of credits or refunds.
This would include former SCE & G clients who helped pay for the V.C. Summer project, but since they left, said Strom.
These executives would probably still receive gold parachutes if they lost their jobs when they merged with Dominion. But Dominion would now be on the verge of paying these severance benefits.
Current and former SCE & G customers would also benefit from the sale of non-core SCANA properties, including Ramsey Grove Plantation in Georgetown, where SCANA executives are being hunted; SCE & G's headquarters on Meeting Street in Charleston; and several properties close to SCANA headquarters in Cayce.
"We wanted to remove the golden parachutes and toys for anyone who would have left there yet," Strom said.
On Saturday, it was unclear how much the taxpayers' lawyers would be paid under the settlement.
The settlement did not provide for any admission of guilt or blame on the part of SCANA. The company has consistently shifted the blame for the failure of the project, which led contractor Westinghouse to declare bankruptcy in March 2017, and state-owned minority partner Santee Cooper to unilaterally withdraw from the construction works. construction on July 31, 2017.
"SCANA and SCE & G deny the allegations made in the lawsuit, but have agreed to resolve this case," the company said in a press release.
SCANA Vice President, Vice President Jim Stuckey, said in a statement: "We are delighted to have been able to reach a mutually acceptable settlement of this case, so that we can continue to focus on the merger with Dominion Energy. "
Reach Wilks at 803-771-8362. Follow him on Twitter @AveryGWilks. Follow Travis Bland at @DTravisBland.
John Monk contributed to this story.
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