COLUMBIA, SC — South Carolina lawmakers met at the State House Wednesday afternoon for a Joint Legislative Conference Committee to discuss a plan on how to handle utility rate cuts in the state.
The meeting lasted right around an hour but lawmakers still could not reach a compromise.This is the third time a conference committee of House members and Senators has gathered to focus solely on legislation dealing with utility rates and the failed nuclear reactor project.
The committee was made up of three Senators and three House members: Senators Nikki Setzler, Luke Rankin and Shane Massey; Representatives Todd Rutherford, Peter McCoy and Kirkman Finlay.
House members proposed adopting the Senate's 13 percent rate cut plan. The cut would be effective back to August 2017 when SCANA Corp. abandoned work on the reactors and it would give customers of SCANA subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas $300 million in credits. The Public Service Commission would decide how to get the refund to customers.
Senate Minority Leader Nikki Setzler says he is concerned about the legality of the House's proposal.
The House passed a bill back in January that would get rid of the 18 percent rate on SC&G bills but the Senate disagreed with the number, saying any amount higher than a 13 percent rate would cause legal concerns.
What both chambers do agree on is that the Base Load Review Act is out. That's the law that allows utility companies to charge you in advance of a big project.
No official decision was made today but some lawmakers do believe that the meeting showed progress toward a final bill. Dominion has said no matter what rate lawmakers go with, their merger with SCANA is in jeopardy. With it, their plan to give $1,000 to customers.
The joint conference committee is planning to meet again in late June.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
