"With temperatures plunging, South Carolina Electric & Gas Co., the dominant utility provider in the state, said it was aware of the hardships presented by having no heat, and said it works with its customers in an effort to avoid service terminations.
When a customer does not pay his or her utility bill, a number of steps are taken to address the situation, the company said.
Customers are given multiple opportunities to pay a “past due” bill before service is disconnected, according to SCE&G spokesman Eric Boombower.
Service disconnects – especially those that coincide with inclement weather – are handled on a case-by-case basis, he said, and include a consideration of immediate weather forecasts and a review of the customer’s payment history.
“The last step – and the least desirable – is to disconnect that customer’s service,” Boombower said.
SCE&G said it does not disconnect services to customers if temperatures are forecast to average 32 degrees or below over an ensuing 48-hour period."
SC Utility News Digest - a Service of the Terreni Law Firm, LLC
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Happy Birthday, PSC!
The Public Service Commission, constituted in 1910, will celebrate its 100th birthday today at a reception following its regularly scheduled meeting at 2:30 pm.
The Public Service Commission was preceded by the South Carolina Railroad Commission, which was established in 1878. Upon the complete appointment of the Railroad Commission in 1883, the Charleston News reported that "the railroad companies have nothing whatever to fear, if the rates which they charge are fair and reasonable, and if their business is conducted with a proper regard for the public interest as well as for the profit of the companies."
The Railroad Commission was combined with the Public Service Commission in 1922.
The Railroad Commission was combined with the Public Service Commission in 1922.
Pact could be near to save tropical forests
"If all goes according to plan, the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change will establish a global mechanism allowing developing nations to receive financial compensation for curbing deforestation, which accounts for roughly 15 percent of the world's annual greenhouse gas emissions."
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
FCC push to regulate news draws fire - The Hill's Hillicon Valley
- 12/06/10 02:33 PM ET
"Barton was reacting to a proposal made last week by FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, who in a speech suggested that broadcasters be subject to a new 'public values test' every four years.'I hope … that you do not mean to suggest that it is the job of the federal government, through the [FCC], to determine the content that is available for Americans to consume,” Barton wrote Monday in a letter to Copps.
Copps had suggested that the test would make a broadcaster's license renewal contingent upon proof that they meet a prospective set of federal criteria.
He said outlets should be mandated to do the following: prove they have made a meaningful commitment to public affairs and news programming, prove they are committed to diversity programming (for instance, by showing that they depict women and minorities), report more to the government about which shows they plan to air, require greater disclosure about who funds political ads and devote 25 percent of their prime-time coverage to local news."
Potential fuel source no small potatoes - Business - TheState.com
- The (Charleston) Post and Courier
Sunday, December 5, 2010
USDA Blog USDA, Co-ops Play Role in Helping Rural Residents Cut Electricity Costs
Posted by Scott Gates, Managing Editor, Solutions News Bulletin, National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corp., on November 22, 2010 at 11:06 AM
"As part of the “Recovery Through Retrofit” initiative, DOE and USDA turned to electric cooperatives—in Indiana, South Carolina, Virginia and Texas—to test the new Home Energy Score software in pilot programs. Cleburne, Texas-based United Cooperative Services, one of the pilot participants, will use the tool to enhance an energy audit program in place for five years."
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Free Times: Growth and Development - Pontoon Boat Drill Rig to Measure Tar Ball Contamination in Congaree River
BY COREY HUTCHINS
"According to SCE&G spokesman Robert Yanity, the floating apparatus, called a geo-probe drill rig, finished up drilling for core samples in the river bottom months ago and sent its analysis to DHEC.The environmental regulatory agency wants more information, however.
“Based on the results, we and [SCE&G] agree that additional delineation of the tar is warranted,” says DHEC spokesman Adam Myrick. He adds that the company is making arrangements for the next phase of if it.
“We’re going to send another drill rig out there in the next two to three weeks,” Yanity tells Free Times. “So it’s likely you will see another rig out there probably [in the] mid-December time frame.”"
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