nuke fiasco aftermath

Millions – possibly billions – of dollars are at stake.

Santee Cooper has been forced into a legal fight for the right to sell billions of dollars in material at its abandoned nuclear project.

The materials cost billions when they were new.

Now whatever the taxpayer-owned utility can get for them can be used to lower its $4 billion nuclear debt.

That debt could be passed on to Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative members in Lexington County.

Santee Cooper last week tried to end the dispute over the ownership of the equipment sitting idle at the failed nuclear project.

It has been paying to maintain billions of dollars in pumps, motors, generators, electrical cable, steel beams and one-of-a-kind components that were left over when the project was canceled 2 years ago.

The Charleston Post and Courier reported that the utility’s attorneys had to fight off a legal challenge by Brookfield Business Partners, a private investor.

Brookfield owns Westinghouse Electric, the former designer and contractor for the $9 billion project.

Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy but Brookfield claims leftover parts Westinghouse abandoned now belong to them.

Santee Cooper attorneys have filed complaints in federal court that it paid for the material and is its owner.

Santee Cooper said ending the construction contract ended any claim Brookfield had to the massive stockpiles of nuclear equipment.

A hearing on the issue has not been scheduled.