Our state lawmakers have inherited a long history of backroom deals with tax money and taxpayer assets.

Taxpayers are charged higher gas taxes and other ‘fees’ with promises of paving potholed roads and crumbling bridges.

Now we find that little is being done about either and much of the money is going to widen interstate highways.

Our regulated monopoly system is another example. Almost everyone but utility fat cats would greet its end.

A competitive power system is the only way we will ever drive down the highest electric rates in the county. Ratepayers, long abused by utility executives and the Pubic Disservice Commission, should he able to buy electricity from competitors as do those in many other states.

The future of deregulating electricity in our state hinges on what happens to Santee Cooper.

It is owned by taxpayers, not lawmakers, and is among our biggest power providers.

Lawmakers await a $15 million analysis of what to do with Santee Cooper due this week.

As the watchdog SC Policy Council found, nothing will happen until lawmakers vote to sell, hire a 3rd-party manager or adopt a “reform” proposal.

Selling Santee Cooper would not end energy monopoly. But it will remove a major barrier to giving ratepayers a choice in where they buy their power.

Another benefit will be that Santee Cooper’s $15.8 billion debt will no longer be on the taxpayers. Technically, that debt is in revenue bonds guaranteed by Santee Cooper’s money, not the taxpayers. Revenue bonds can’t constitutionally be paid off by taxes but lawmakers have violated the constitution before.

They last did it by calling the gas tax a “fee” and funneling it to State Transportation Infrastructure Bank revenue bonds.

As long as we taxpayers own Santee Cooper, we face bailing out its $15.8 billion debt – half of it from a failed $9 billion nuclear power project.

Ending monopolies and introducing competition won’t be easy. Texas did it. We can, too.

– JerryBellune@ yahoo.com

Selling Santee Cooper will lower barriers to competition and cheaper electricity rates.