South Carolina Supreme Court could stop SCE&G rate hike on SC customers
The South Carolina Electric & Gas Utility (SCE&G) has been making headlines as it has enacted one significant rate hike and plans to enact another during these poor economic times. However, an environmental group is hoping to convince a South Carolina Supreme Court judge to overturn a law that allows them to do it.
Friends of the Earth is the organization fighting the rate hike.
SCE&G has enacted a program to increase rates by 2.5% every year for 10 years in order to pay for new nuclear power facilities. Friends of the Earth is arguing that it is not fair to charge the public for the building expenses when the people paying may not be living in the state to enjoy the nuclear power in 2016 when the generators begin providing service.
SCE&G says the rate hike will provide them $1 billion in financing. They are also trying to get permission from the State to raise rates by almost 10% over the next 18 months in order to pay for federally mandated upgrades to their coal powered facilities and an upgrade to a dam they own.
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The thing that troubles me most is that rate hikes such as this one will only continue as long as South Carolina, and America for that matter, is not energy independant. The way to become energy independant is to invest in renewable energy sources. As long as we are dependant on non-renewable energy such as coal, we will be putting our country in a less safe position as we continue to send billions of dollars overseas for foreign oil. This is not an issue of a “climate change” debate, this is an issue of job creation for us here in SC. And Lord knows we need more jobs here. Let’s get on the renewable energy bandwagon NOW, and not wait to chase the tails of countries like China.