If Evidence Of Fraud Is Found, Some Scana Executives Could End Up In Court.”

Many of us think of bankruptcy as financial suicide or worse. It isn’t.

At best, a SCANA bankruptcy proceeding will provide ways to flush out incompetence and outright dishonesty for all stakeholders including 727,000 abused ratepayers.

SCANA executives ignored the rules that other corporations and their investors play by: Investors elect directors who appoint executives. Investors and directors oversee their executives’ actions and decisions.

At SCANA, directors and officers appear to have been incompetent at best, dishonest at worst and absorbed by their own self-interest in millions of bonus dollars.

They and their lobbyists slickly convinced lawmakers to pass a state law that let them fleece their ratepayers for 10 years.

Now they want their ratepayers to bail them out for another 20 years at a cost of more than $5 billion more while they pocket millions in bonuses.

Many companies have had to resort to bankruptcy with the books open, operations independently reviewed, creditors and customers seated at the table while auditors and the trustee look at assets and liabilities.

During bankruptcy, SCANA would continue to provide electricity and retain 600 employees who will lose their jobs if Dominion takes over. And Dominion may also get a better deal for SCANA in bankruptcy.

SCANA executives don’t want bankruptcy for these reasons:

• A bankruptcy court can void $115 million in severance pay.

• Other utilities could bid to acquire SCANA assets without an obligation to pay bonuses.

• Investors will lose stock value but why shouldn’t they? Their directors and executives engaged in the deception that led to bankruptcy.

• SCANA will have to end its country club perks and sell land at Lake Murray and Lake Moultrie unrelated to its business.

A trustee will have the power to approve expenditures. If evidence of fraud and criminal activity is found, some executives could end up in court.

- JerryBellune@yahoo.com

If evidence of fraud is found, some SCANA executives could end up in court.