SC Electric & Gas has now blamed state officials for its nuclear problems.

The Lexington County-based power company’s lawyer accused the Office of Regulatory Staff of knowing the project was in trouble and doing nothing about it.

SCE&G attorney David Balser told Public Service Commissioners at last week’s hearing that ORS regulators knew everything about cost overruns and construction delays but did nothing to stop it.

He accused ORS of trying to cover itself in joining the opposition to SCE&G.

He did not say ORS’s mission has been changed by law to make it responsible for protecting ratepayers and the public, not SCE&G executives and their profits.

ORS has said a law passed 10 years ago required it to help utilities, not ratepayers, but that has been changed.

Attorneys for ratepayers and environmental groups want all 9 rate hikes ended and more than $2 billion returned to 727,000 ratepayers.

ORS has accused SCE&G and parent SCANA executives of lying to it and the PSC about progress on the failed project to justify charging the 9 rate hikes.

ORS and the lawyers for those suing SCE&G say:

• Executives withheld critical information from the PSC to keep the failing $9 billion project going.

• That they have tried in vain to get the company to release documents that will support their claims.

ORS spokesman Ron Aiken said SCE&G kept his agency in the dark about its problems until it and Santee Cooper abandoned the project 15 months ago.

“Our entire case is built around hundreds, if not thousands, of documents that were not shared with ORS or the Public Service Commission and shed a different light on the project at the time,” Aiken said.

The State newspaper reported it had obtained letters from now retired ORS Director Dukes Scott expressing concerns about delays and cost overruns to the governor and House and Senate leaders. But Scott did not say the problems were serious enough to stop construction.

Aiken said Scott didn’t know how serious it was.

Scott’s understanding of the project was limited “by SCE&G’s withholding documents,” Aiken said. “We saw everything, except what they didn’t give us.”