SC Electric & Gas ratepayers are holding their breath.

SCE&G and Dominion Energy, the company that aims to buy the Lexington County-based company, want to raise rates another 7%.

But the Office of Regulatory Staff wants the Public Service Commission to cut rates another 5%.

That would lower rates 20% from the 15% level before the $9 billion nuclear project was abandoned.

SCE&G rates should be rolled back another 5% for a total of 20% from the pre-abandonment levels.

Frank Knapp, Jr. of the SC Small Business Chamber of Commerce, said the PSC is making a mistake to let Dominion become involved in a Nov. 1 hearing on how much to charge ratepayers for nuclear construction.

“SCE&G should not be allowed to recover any of the construction costs after March of 2015, the date ORS asserts that SCE&G knew that the project would be years behind schedule and billions over budget yet did not inform the PSC.”

Pre-filed ORS testimony showing SCE&G should have abandoned the project in 2015 when its executives knew construction was delayed for years and would cost billions more than it was admitting to the PSC.

ORS staff and its experts:

• Reviewed more than 2.4 million pages of documents and financial records.

• Obtained industry experts’ opinions. Their testimony and reports will be presented in November.

• Recommend the PSC disallow $1.87 billion in new nuclear development costs SCE&G wants.

• Recommends a $193.3 million rate cut each year.

ORS expert witness Gary C. Jones said “SCE&G deliberately and repeatedly misled the PSC and ORS by withholding key information on the projected construction schedule.”