JENKINSVILLE – At approximately 1 p.m. on Tuesday, July 10, SCE&G will sound the 109 sirens located within a 10-mile radius of V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Fairfield County near Jenkinsville. All sirens surrounding the plant are usually sounded on the first Tuesday of each quarter for one minute as part of the plant’s regular testing program.
Area residents are reminded that the one-minute sounding of sirens during this time period is only a test. In the unlikely event of an actual emergency at the plant, the sirens would sound for three minutes with no prior notice and would alert area residents to tune in to an Emergency Alert System radio or television station for further instructions.
For more information, log on to www.sceg.com/nuclearpreparedness, or call the Fairfield County emergency management office (803-635-4444) or S.C. Emergency Management Division (803-737-8500).
WINNSBORO – Last week attorneys for South Carolina Electric and Gas Company (SCE&G) argued in the Sixth Circuit Judicial Court for a change of venue for the lawsuit filed against them by Fairfield County.
Attorneys for Fairfield County argued that the trial should remain in the county where the incident (the abandonment of reactors two and three at V.C. Summers nuclear plant) occurred.
A decision from Judge Paul Burch is expected by next week.
Attorneys for SCE&G said in court that it would be necessary to move the trial to Lexington County since some county officials, including County Administrator Jason Taylor, Senator Mike Fanning and certain County Council members had poisoned the public by saying negative things about SCE&G which created the situation where the people of Fairfield could not be expected to rise to the level of giving a fair judgement.
The County’s attorneys argued, essentially, that the people of Fairfield County have a right to trial here in Fairfield County.
“Even if the trial is not held in Fairfield County where the plant is, by law it must be held in the circuit which includes Fairfield, Lancaster and Chester counties. Holding the trial in Lexington County is not an option,” McKensie said. “Legally it must be held in the county or at least in the circuit.”
WINNSBORO – South Carolina Electric and Gas Company has filed a motion for a change of venue for the lawsuit Fairfield County filed on Nov. 29, 2017 against the utility for a temporary injunction. The matter is to be heard on Thursday before Judge Paul Burch.
“SCE&G is asking to have the trial moved to Lexington County since they’re based in Cayce,” Fairfield County Administrator Jason Taylor told The Voice on Wednesday. “That would be more convenient for them, but we, of course, don’t want to do that. Fairfield is where the incident occurred, this is where we work and live and there would be many inconveniences for our council members if it were moved,” Taylor said.
Council members signed affidavits on Monday stating their particular inconveniences, health problems and other reasons why it would be difficult for them to travel to Lexington County for a trial.
“We’ve submitted the affidavits to our attorney, and he will submit them to the judge on Thursday,” Taylor said. “Hopefully, the judge will rule on Thursday, but at this point, we don’t know.”
JENKINSVILLE – At approximately 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 9, SCE&G will sound the 109 sirens located within a 10-mile radius of V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Fairfield County near Jenkinsville. All sirens surrounding the plant are usually sounded on the first Tuesday of each quarter for one minute as part of the plant’s regular testing program. Because of the New Year holiday, this test will be conducted on the second Tuesday.
Area residents are reminded that the one-minute sounding of sirens during this time period is only a test. In the unlikely event of an actual emergency at the plant, the sirens would sound for three minutes with no prior notice and would alert area residents to tune in to an Emergency Alert System radio or television station for further instructions.
For more information, log on to www.sceg.com/nuclearpreparedness, or call the Fairfield County emergency management office (803-635-4444) or S.C. Emergency Management Division (803-737-8500).
A Bad Deal for Clean Energy in South Carolina and for SCE&G Ratepayers, who get Stuck Paying for the V.C. Summer Nuclear Reactor Debacle for 20 Years
COLUMBIA, S.C. – On January 3, 2018, Dominion Energy and SCANA announced that Dominion has instigated a takeover of SCANA, a South Carolina-based utility. SCANA has been vulnerable to takeover as it’s facing financial and regulatory woes due to pursuit by its subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) of two nuclear reactors that were canceled on July 31, 2017, after a waste of $9 billion.
The take-it-or-leave-it deal falls far short of protecting ratepayers from absorbing the costs of the nuclear fiasco, while replacing the unneeded nuclear plant with unnecessary natural gas capacity instead of cheaper and cleaner energy alternatives. The deal proposes an initial rebate to SCE&G electricity customers for a small amount of the money already paid for the V.C. Summer nuclear reactor construction debacle. The proposal would then require that a typical customer continue to pay 13% of their monthly bill for a period of 20 years, with full profits on the remaining abandoned nuclear project costs. About 18% of customers’ current bill now goes to the nuclear project, with SCE&G collecting about $37 million per month from ratepayers.
SCE&G is still expected to file a formal abandoned nuclear project cost recovery petition with the South Carolina Public Service Commission on or about January 8, 2018, as the company announced last month. That petition will provide important details on Dominion’s proposed deal and draw engagement from public interest groups. Friends of the Earth and Sierra Club will respond aggressively to any proposal which fails to protect ratepayers and assure a clean energy future for South Carolina.
Friends of the Earth and the Sierra Club currently have a complaint pending before the PSC which seeks repayment to customers of money wasted on the nuclear project and a future commitment to pursue cleaner, cheaper, alternative energy. In that on-going case Friends of the Earth and Sierra Club are actively seeking to compel discovery of documents from SCE&G that could hold evidence of fraud and imprudence on the part of the utility. While it is unclear how the merger proposal will proceed, the organizations will continue to fight at the PSC for a return of money spent on the nuclear fiasco.
VC Summer Nuclear Plant, May 2017 | Courtesy of High Flyer
CAYCE, S.C. – Barely two weeks after Fairfield County Council took South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G) to court to request an injunction to prevent SCE&G from relinquishing its nuclear license for VC Summer Units 2 and 3, and before a judge could rule on the request, SCE&G filed a formal request with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to withdraw the combined operating licenses (COLs) for the two VC Summer Units.
In addition, on Wednesday, Dominion Energy and SCANA announced that Dominion has instigated a takeover of SCANA which has been vulnerable to takeover as it’s facing financial and regulatory woes due to pursuit by SCE&G of two nuclear reactors that were canceled on July 31, 2017, after a waste of $9 billion. (For the complete breaking news on this announced takeover, go to blythewoodonline.com.)
SCE&G is still expected to file a formal abandoned nuclear project cost recovery petition with the South Carolina Public Service Commission on or about Jan. 8, 2018, as the company announced Dec. 28. That petition will provide important details on Dominion’s proposed deal.
“This notification (Dec. 28, 2017) is consistent with our plans for abandonment and helps to ensure we qualify for a tax deduction in 2017 so that we can capture approximately $2 billion for our customers to offset the costs of the new nuclear project,” said incoming SCANA CFO Iris Griffin.
In its notification to the NRC, SCE&G stated that it has irrevocably abandoned its interests in the VCS Units 2 and 3, ceased all completion and preservation activities, and has limited work at the plant to only those actions required to place the site in a safe condition, terminate construction and close active permits.
SCE&G has offered to cede its abandoned interest in the VCS Units 2 and 3 to Santee Cooper, for no consideration. If, prior to the NRC approval of this request to withdraw the COLs, Santee Cooper chooses to seek to become the sole licensee for the project, SCE&G officials said they will support an application to the NRC to transfer the licenses to Santee Cooper.
“Fairfield County is aware of SCE&G’s desire to withdraw the licenses for VC Summer Units 2 and 3 so it can take a tax write-off for 2017,” said attorney John McKenzie, one of two law firms representing the County in its legal action against SCE&G.
“The County is also aware that Santee Cooper, by letter of December 15, 2017, has yet to consent to the surrender of these licenses, and apparently cannot do so until its board meets in late January,” McKenzie said. “We also understand that there are interested parties who might purchase Santee Cooper. We would hope that SCE&G would not return the licenses in question until all options to restart this project have been explored. Otherwise, SCE&G will have taken additional steps to show its bad faith toward both the citizens of Fairfield County and Santee Cooper, which also furnishes power to electric cooperatives serving the citizens of Fairfield County.”
WINNSBORO – Fairfield County faced off with attorneys for South Carolina Gas and Electric (SCE&G) last week in Common Pleas Court in Winnsboro before Sixth Judicial Circuit Judge Brian Gibbons.
Lawyers for the County called for the immediate issuance of a temporary injunction against SCE&G based on what the County says is the power company’s failure to comply with the terms of the County’s fee-in-lieu contract with SCE&G. The county also asked for an immediate, temporary restraining order to prevent SCE&G from abandoning the project at V.C. Summer nuclear plant and not protecting the assets at the plant.
Fairfield County’s Director of Economic Development, Ty Davenport, explains the economic impact of the VC Summer abandonment on the County.
At the heart of the County’s concern is getting access to the plant so it can assess all aspects of the property.
Terry Richardson, Jr. of Richardson, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman law firm, one of two law firms representing the County in the lawsuit, said the County is only asking to hold the status quo until it can assess the property. He said the County has been trying to get access but that SCE&G hasn’t responded.
Judge Gibbons determined that it is the County’s right, according the Fee-in-Lieu agreement to have full access for the purpose of assessing the property.
Richardson said the County is eager to go in the following Monday (Dec. 18) to begin the assessment. Gibbons said he planned to have a ruling on Thursday, Dec. 21, and asked Richardson to have the evaluations and assessments back to him by Wednesday, Dec. 20.
“We were ready to take our county assessor, Randy Roberts, and a team of assessors from the State Department of Revenue in with us on Tuesday,” County Administrator Jason Taylor said on Wednesday. “But even though SCE&G promised to give us access, they have not given that access yet. We don’t know when we will be allowed in. A lot of things are happening in Columbia right now. We need to talk to the attorneys to see what the outcome of this thing is going to be. We were supposed to have the information back in to Judge Gibbons today (Wednesday, Dec. 20) and be back in to court for his ruling tomorrow, so I don’t know when that’s going to happen,” Taylor said.
Richardson said there is immediate concern, as well, that SCE&G is turning in its nuclear license for the two reactors, a $9 billion issue for this county.
“That would have tremendous ramifications for the County,” Richardson told the Court. “We want to get our County people out there evaluating that property and take a look at it, inspect and evaluate it. We need all that to be done before the license is turned back, before there is complete and total abandonment of the site. There may be pollution issues, permits may be needed,” Richardson said. “We want to hold the status quo.”
According to sources who asked not to be quoted, there is speculation that SCE&G could soon be turning its license over to Santee Cooper.
“The license is a huge asset and we want to slow the process down before they turn it in,” Taylor said. “We hope to work with the governor and the state for a good outcome.”
The County’s lawsuit alleges breach of contract, fraud negligent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty and unfair trade practices. The County claims that SCE&G’s expressed intention to abandon the project and dispose of the properties, plus abandon regulatory permits and licenses by year’s end in order to gain a tax advantage, deprives the County of determining what potential tax and license fees could be due from the property within its jurisdiction and may leave dangerous or potentially dangerous conditions to the County’s citizens.
Judge Gibbons told attorneys for both parties that his ruling, when it is given, will be only temporary.
The McDonald McKenzie, Rubin Miller and Lybrand law firm is also representing the County.
WINNSBORO – Eleven Fairfield County residents in a lawsuit filed against SCANA/SCE&G in August, have filed a motion in the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court to have a state judge order a freeze of SCANA/SCE&G’s next dividend payment which is scheduled for Jan. 1.
“If a judge doesn’t freeze SCANA’s assets, it will pay out $87.3 million on Jan. 1 to shareholders,” Creighton Coleman, one of the attorney for the plaintiffs, said.
In their motion, the plaintiffs’ request that any dividends paid out be paid into a trust account until the plaintiffs’ lawsuit is resolved. The motion contends that the money from dividend payments to shareholders should be preserved so that sufficient assets will be available for potential liabilities.
The lawsuit also seeks to have the court freeze assets of the company related to the nuclear plant project.
The lawsuit alleges that the companies “knew years before abandoning the project that the project was not feasible; not subject to a detailed construction schedule; not a good investment of the ratepayer’s money, over budget; and failing.”
The plaintiffs allege that SCANA/SCE&G charged customers up to $1 billion over the years for its failed nuclear expansion project and seeks to recover money for all of the company’s ratepayers in the Columbia and Charleston areas.
The lawsuit alleges 11 causes of action, including waste, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and fraud. It accuses the companies of unjust enrichment for receiving profits from the project “since the project was not completed and the plaintiffs were not provided with any value from the project.”
In addition to Coleman, other lawyers for the plaintiffs include Ed Bell of Georgetown, Greg Galvin of Bluffton and State Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Kershaw.
VC Summer Nuclear Plant, May 2017 | Courtesy of High Flyer
WINNSBORO – In a unanimous vote Tuesday night, County Council approved a motion by Councilman Neil Robinson to authorize the County’s attorneys to move forward with the filing of a lawsuit against SCE&G/SCANA and any other necessary parties based upon SCE&G/SCANA’s failure to comply with the terms of the fee-in-lieu contract between SCE&G/SCANA and the County, and to also file a temporary restraining order to prevent SCE&G from abandoning this project and not protecting the assets at V.C. Summer.
“SCE&G and the V.C. Summer Station have been valuable members of our community for many years,” Council Chairman Billy Smith said. “However, the Council owes it to the citizens of our County to do whatever we can to recoup the financial losses created by SCE&G’s decision to abandon the project.
The County is not looking for any kind of financial windfall, we just hope that this litigation can get our County closer to the position it would have been in had SCE&G acted in good faith, diligently completed these projects, and not chosen to abandon the construction of the plants.”
The County issued a statement explaining that, on Nov. 21, 2017, Council approved filing a lawsuit against SCE&G over the decision to abandon construction of two new power plants located at the V.C. Summer nuclear power station in Jenkinsville.
In July of 2010, the County and SCE&G entered into a contract known as a fee-in-lieu of taxes agreement. That gave the utility preferential tax treatment by the County in exchange for future payments of fees by SCE&G to the County once the new nuclear units were generating power.
In reliance on the agreement, according to the statement, Fairfield County undertook a number of long term financial obligations including the issuance of $24 million in bonds to finance multiple construction projects and upgrades that were needed in anticipation of SCE&G’s operation of the plants. SCE&G’s decision to abandon the projects has left the County with significant obligations that would not have been undertaken but for the company’s representations to the County.
Also, according to the statement, the decision will cost the County millions of dollars of lost revenue from the abandonment of the fee in lieu of taxes agreement.
