nuke fiasco aftermath

SCANA officials say they don’t know what he did, as they have no record of it.

Former SCANA CEO William Timmerman was paid as a consultant on its failed $9 billion nuclear project.

Much of that fee may have been paid by SC Electric & Gas’s 727,000 ratepayers.

But he did not file progress reports or record his hours worked, according to documents The State newspaper obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

Timmerman has not responded to questions about his consulting work.

The Office of Regulatory Staff aims to stop SCANA, which owns SCE&G, from charging its ratepayers for Timmerman’s fees.

“According to SCE&G, they requested no documents [from] Timmerman, which could lead one to conclude that no work was expected,” Regulatory Staff spokesman Ron Aiken told The State.

SCANA says it never asked Timmerman for evidence of his work during his 5-year stint as a consultant, according to correspondence between the Office of Regulatory Staff and SCANA.

SCANA has said it will respond to ORS arguments with written testimony later this month but would not comment further.

In its responses to ORS, SCANA said its $360,000-a-year contract with Timmerman began the day after he retired in 2011. It stipulated he was not paid hourly.

“There was no requirement for documentation of hours worked,” SCANA said.

When asked for documentation of any “reasonable authorized expenses” Timmerman had as a consultant, such as office supplies, SCANA responded it had none.

“The company has not received any such request for reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with the consulting services rendered by Mr. Timmerman,” SCANA told state regulators.

ORS asked SCANA for copies of any written reports from Timmerman that could show his activities as a consultant at the nuclear site.

SCANA replied that, according to its contract with Timmerman, “written reports would be provided as requested by the company.”

SCANA added, “The company has not requested any such written reports from Mr. Timmerman.”

SCANA paid $990,000 of Timmerman’s fees. Its minority partner Santee Cooper paid another $810,000.