Nuclear Fiasco aftermath

Will Santee Cooper be sold?

When the General Assembly adjourned last month after much talk about Santee Cooper, we were no closer to getting an answer to that question than a year ago.

The lawmakers did agree to seek serious binding offers from companies interested in buying or managing Santee Cooper.

The state had previously received 15 anonymous, non-binding offers to buy or manage the utility. These were reported to the lawmakers by a consultant they hired. But that consultant’s report lacked details senators said they need before they vote to off load the 85-year-old utility.

The state Department of Administration is to seek offers from anyone who wants to buy or manage Santee Cooper. The department can hire financial experts to evaluate the offers and bring the best ones to the General Assembly for consideration.

The bids are to be judged based on a host of factors, including:

• How the bidder will treat Santee Cooper’s electric rates over the next 20 years.

• How many Santee Cooper employees would lose their jobs over 5 years.

• What the bidder would do with Santee Cooper’s headquarters in Moncks Corner.

• Whether the bidder would pay off all of Santee Cooper’s debts.

• Whether the bidder agrees to continue Santee Cooper’s work with the state on economic development recruitment.

• How the bidder will generate or import power to serve Santee Cooper customers.

• The total value of the bid.

The Department of Administration would bring the best purchase offer and the best management offer to the General Assembly. Santee Cooper would be allowed to submit its own offer, explaining how it would improve itself if allowed to remain a stand-alone utility. The intent is to give lawmakers 4 options to consider when they reconvene next January.

We believe the bidders will expend a great deal of time and money to submit bids, be asked detailed questions and find their efforts will not yield a positive result.

The General Assembly does not have a positive track record of accomplishing much in an election year, which 2020 will be.

Energy Freedom Act

Lawmakers this year passed the Energy Freedom Act. The bill includes lifting the 2% cap on the number of solar energy systems that can qualify for net metering.

The bill allows demand to drive solar adoption without restrictions from a cap. Also included is an extension of the retail rate which will allow solar customers to receive retail rate compensation for their contribution to the electric grid until 2021.

Regulators will decide the export rate after an in-depth study of the value of solar as a resource to all SC ratepayers. South Carolina was 1 of 2 states that had capped this type of financing option.

Mr. Clarkson is CEO of Resource Supply Management.