COLUMBIA, SC (AP) — A South Carolina judge gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a $520 million settlement that would provide refunds to Santee Cooper Utility customers who were charged higher rates for a failed nuclear construction.
Judge Jean Toal gave initial approval of the settlement on Tuesday, an important first step in ending a long-running dispute between Santee Cooper and its customers, who have filed a class action lawsuit against the utility, media reported.
The project racked up $4 billion in debt before Santee Cooper exited its minority stake in VC Summer’s nuclear expansion in July 2017.
Since the project began more than a decade ago, Santee Cooper has increased rates fivefold to finance the costly project to build two nuclear power generators in Jenkinsville, about 40 kilometers northwest of Columbia. Santee Cooper was the junior partner on the project along with former Cayce-based SCE&G, which was acquired by Dominion Energy in January 2019.
After spending billions on the project, Santee Cooper and SCE&G shut down the project before any electricity was generated due to rapidly rising costs.
The preliminary settlement would reimburse certain electricity costs paid by Santee Cooper customers and approximately 2 million South Carolina residents who obtain their electricity from power cooperatives that use utility power.
Santee Cooper also couldn’t raise electricity rates for four years.
The state legislature is currently trying to decide whether to reform Santee Cooper or sell it.
A final approval hearing is scheduled for July 20.
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