Chronicle readers know why our state’s regulated monopoly system works for the monopolies but not for them.

We have explained it more than once. Here’s the latest evidence that the system works for

• Regulators who are paid more than $100,000 a year.

• A few lawmakers who find ways to profit off the system.

• Utility executives who fabricate reasons they should get whopping rate increases and walk away into retirement with millions of ratepayers’ dollars.

The system rewards the Public Disservice Commissioners who approved 9 SCANA nuclear fiasco rate hikes with glowing report cards from the Public Utilities Review Committee on their annual performance reviews.

State law requires the PURC screen, nominate and evaluate each commissioner to help lawmakers judge if they acted in the public’s best interests.

This sounds great in theory, but past reviews have been little more than rubber-stamping the commissioners’ performances – even during the ill-fated $9 billion SCANA nuclear charade.

As nuclear costs spun billions of dollars out of control, the 6 lawmakers of the PURC copied glowing language about the PSC’s performance for years.

Then lawmakers claimed they were blind-sided when the nuclear project was abandoned and SCANA’s top brass retired with millions of dollars the PSC allowed them to overcharge 725,000 ratepayers.

Past PURC reviews of commissioners who approved the nuclear rate hikes show they performed flawlessly in their 6-figure jobs – even though they accepted with little question the lies SCANA execs fed them.

The SC Policy Council’s Rick Brundrett reported that annual reviews for 2 years found the exact cut-and-paste words for all 7 PSC members.

Apparently none of the performance questions were about how often the commissioners gave the utilities the rate increases they wanted despite lower recommendations from the Office of Regulatory Staff.

We need a better system.

– JerryBellune@yahoo.com