Reactors' foes to go to court

COLUMBIA -- The Friends of the Earth will get its day in the S.C. Supreme Court Thursday in appealing a state decision that would allow South Carolina Electric & Gas to add two new nuclear reactors in Fairfield County.

The environmental group claims the S.C. Public Service Commission should have rejected the $9.8 billion expansion a year ago, calling the plan "costly and risky."

Friends of the Earth said SCE&G has not done enough to get customers to reduce energy use and should not charge customers now for plants that won't be in operation for at least six years.

SCE&G won approval to phase-in rate hikes totaling more than $1 billion to help cover construction costs. The hikes started last year.

SCE&G said it is promoting energy conservation and that gradually increasing rates now will reduce the cost of the project by about $1 billion. The state Legislature passed a law that allows a utility to raise rates over the life of a project to cover construction costs.

SCE&G recently raised rates by a total of $1.90 a month to help pay for the reactors. It will phase in additional increases that will boost the average monthly bill by $40 by 2019, when the second new reactor is expected to go on line.

SCE&G had to file last June with the Public Service Commission and the Office of Regulatory Staff a portfolio of programs designed to promote energy efficiency for homes and businesses; it includes energy audits and rebates.

A more detailed plan will be presented in a hearing April 1, utility spokesman Eric Boomhower said. But he said a reduction in energy usage doesn't negate the need for new reactors.

"Doing what we can to help people be more energy-efficient and how to go about that is important, but we have to be realistic about what our customers need," he said.

Boomhower said the company explored other methods of generating energy to meet rising customer demand, including coal, natural gas and renewable energy, such as wind turbines.

Nuclear was the best option, he said.

"We don't have the luxury of saying, 'We'll provide you energy when the wind's blowing,' " he said.

Boomhower said the utility's research shows that the majority of South Carolinians support nuclear energy.

More than half of the electricity generated in South Carolina is from nuclear power. He said there is a small but very vocal opposition.

Tom Clements, spokesman for Friends of the Earth, called the utility's energy conservation program "woefully inadequate."

He said SCE&G should include measures such as shaving peak usage and addressing the special needs of manufactured housing, which he said was less energy-efficient than homes built on site. He said the plan also needs fixed reduction goals.

Clements said charging customers in advance for the plants also is a problem because it means people who die or move away will never experience the benefits.

"We think that it's unjust to charge rate payers in advance because it denies them the ability to make the decision about what they want to do with the money," he said. "We don't think that is fair."

A decision by the court likely won't be issued Thursday, and could come in conjunction with a decision on another appeal by the S.C. Energy Users Committee.

The committee's appeal could be heard by the court soon.

SCE&G co-owns the Fairfield County plant with state-owned utility Santee Cooper, which is sharing in the cost of the proposed expansion.