SCE&G wants more of your money

For those of you in the South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) territory, get ready to mark your calendars.  The power company is asking for an overall rate increase of 6.6% on electricity for its 660,000 customers.  For small businesses the rate hike would be 4.19% and residential customers would pay a whopping 7.35% more for electricity.  The total new money being sought from customers by SCE&G with this filing is $151.5 million.

This rate hike has nothing to do with the SCE&G construction of the two nuclear reactors under cosntruction that they are also requesting another $238 million from their customers.  And this has nothing to do with regular fuel adjustments.  This is all about regular operational costs for SCE&G.

Is the increase justified?  We’re going to find out because the S.C. Public Service Commission (PSC) will hold its hearing on the matter right after Thanksgiving.  I have formerly intervened in the process which gives me the right to cross examine all witnesses.  I have done this numerous times in the past and at the end of the day SCE&G proposed rate increases have been knocked down by up to 50%.

So what’s the prognosis this time?  Here are some facts.

--SCE&G already has the highest rates of the commercial power companies in South Carolina.  The average monthly residential bill for a 1000 kWh customer is $130.64 for SCE&G, $106.77 for Duke and $101.58 for Progress.

--SCE&G is asking to increase its return of common equity (the rate offered to Wall Street financiers to entice them to by SCE&G paper) from 10.7% to 10.95%.  This would be 0.45% higher than what Duke has been given by the PSC. 

--The parent company of SCE&G, SCANA, had a 29% increase in earnings in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period the year before.  That means that SCANA took in $72 million in profit in May, June, and July this year. 

If you want to let the PSC know how you feel about the proposed SCE&G rate hike, there are three public hearings.  All public hearings will start at 6 pm.

--Wednesday, October 24^th, at the Aiken Technical College, Amphitheater (Room 701), 226 Jefferson David Highway, Graniteville, SC.

--Monday, November 5^th, International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1422, 1142 Morrison Drive, Charleston, SC.

--Tuesday, November 27^th, Public Service Commission of South Carolina, 101 Executive Center Drive, Columbia, SC.

You can check out the SCE&G filing (NO. 2012-218-E) at the PSC website, www.psc.sc.gov.  If you would like to comment by mail, send it to SC Office of Regulatory Staff, 1401 Main Street, Suite 900, Columbia, SC  29201.