Last year, SCANA paid millions of dollars to its top brass for mismanaging a $9 billion nuclear plant disaster.

Much of that money came from exorbitant increases in power rates approved by state regulators who are supposed to protect the ratepayers.

Now the board of taxpayer-owned Santee Cooper wants to raise rates 12% while paying $511,000 in bonuses to the executives who were supposed to be co-managing the project.

Such costs may raise power rates for Mid-Carolina Electric members in Lexington County.

How much per household this will be is not known. Mid-Carolina has been a good steward for its members and managed to avoid rate hikes for 6 years.

As he should, Senate Minority Leader Nikki Setzler, D-West Columbia, questioned the bonuses.

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, who represents Lexington County, said paying bonuses seems “incredibly tone-deaf.”

Yet lawmakers took no action to stop the tone-deaf board or their extravagant bonuses.

Santee Cooper’s CEO Jim Brogdon defended the bonuses because he fears losing the executives have found ways to cut costs and be more efficient.

Senators told Brogdon this doesn’t justify bonuses while they are raising rates for the state’s electric cooperative members to pay their share of the $9 billion nuclear fiasco.

Chief Financial Officer Jeff Armfield was already paid a $27,680 bonus and was to get 2 more $55,360 bonuses.

This is not the 1st Santee Cooper bonus issue. Last year, they gave SCANA $9 million for bonuses to its executives.

This included millions in bonuses and retirement pay for SCANA CEO Kevin Marsh, his CFO Jimmy Addison and nuclear project boss Stephen Byrne.

Now the 3 face a court trial on charges of lying to and defrauding their investors of millions more dollars. Those investors include fellow employees who counted on their shares to provide a retirement of their own.

How could they do this to the people who trusted them?

– Jerry Bellune