On a hot June day this week, Gov. Henry McMaster ceremonially signed a new energy law aimed at ramping up Palmetto State power production. In addition to regulatory changes, the law clears the way for Dominion Energy and state-owned Santee Cooper to build a 2,000-megawatt natural gas plant in rural Colleton County.
McMaster signed the bill into law more than a month ago, but Wednesday’s ceremony brought utility executives and other workers together with lawmakers to show solidarity and support between the groups.
“This is of course to celebrate a great step for South Carolina,” McMaster said at the ceremony, which lasted less than 15 minutes before most everyone went back into the air-conditioned mansion.
The law took effect immediately. Utilities now can appeal state Public Service Commission rulings directly to the S.C. Supreme Court, meaning projects or rate cases won’t be in limbo for years as they wind through the courts. They can also now ask for smaller rate increases every year instead of hitting customers with what was sometimes a double-digit increase to cover inflation and rising costs after four or five years.
Meanwhile, lawmakers recently cleared the way for private companies to take over the long-abandoned project to build two new nuclear reactors at the defunct V.C. Summer site near Jenkinsville. Ratepayers paid billions of dollars on the failed project, which was abandoned in 2017, well before it generated even a watt of powerstaffThe bill did not get unanimous support. Some legislators from both sides of the aisle worried the state didn’t set limits on data centers and that would allow the computer farms to suck up massive amounts of the new energy and raise costs to homeowners and others while providing few local benefits. – Skyler Baldwin
In other recent news
Charleston remembers Emanuel A.M.E. Church massacre 10 years later. A racist gunman murdered nine parishioners 10 years ago this week at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in downtown Charleston.
- Leaders of Emanuel A.M.E. church say the way forward requires heavy lifting
- Giffords calls for ‘common-sense’ gun laws on 10th anniversary of Emanuel shootings
- Why Chris Singleton forgave his mother’s racist killer
2026: Wilson reportedly set to enter governor’s race. Alan Wilson, the four-term Republican attorney general of South Carolina, is reportedly set to enter the state’s open gubernatorial race in 2026, setting up a primary contest that’s likely to be a multi-candidate competition for President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
- With Wilson eyeing S.C. governor’s race, who might run for attorney general?
- SC-2: Democratic attorney, Air Force veteran announces congressional bid
McMaster, S.C. nonprofits stand against offshore drilling. Gov. Henry McMaster reiterated his opposition to drilling for oil off the South Carolina coast, after the Trump administration announced its intention to expand offshore drilling.
S.C. to receive nearly $73M from national opioid settlement. South Carolina will receive $72.8 million for drug-addiction treatment, prevention and recovery as part of a multi-state settlement with one of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical companies.
- Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.
