SCE&G wants rate increase - Local / Metro - TheState.com

Warren Wise

"South Carolina Electric & Gas is requesting another rate increase to help pay for construction of two new nuclear units north of Columbia.
The Cayce-based utility has asked the S.C. Public Service Commission to approve an overall 2.7 percent increase that would take effect in October.
Rates for residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month would rise $3.58, or 2.83 percent, to $130.32.
Rates for small and medium commercial users would go up 2.67 percent, and for large commercial and industrial customers, 2.49 percent."

City nets $5 million in power plant deal - Local / Metro - TheState.com

Adam Beam

"Lockhart Power, one of four investor-owned utilities in the state, pledged to spend $3.5 million upgrading the plant at the mouth of the Columbia Canal behind EdVenture and the State Museum. The renovations should be complete within 18 months, according to Bryan Stone, Lockhart’s chief operating officer.
Lockhart will operate the plant while Columbia sells the power back to SCE&G. Lockhart keeps 81 percent of the money while the city keeps 19 percent.
“The more (power) they make, the more they get and the more we keep,” Gantt said.
Columbia has owned the plant since 2002, when SCE&G passed it to Columbia as part of a deal that also transferred ownership of the metro Columbia bus system to the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority. SCE&G continued to operate the plant, giving Columbia a $1 million credit yearly on its power bill, which the city then used to help pay for the bus system."

Germany to Close All Nuclear Plants by 2022 - NYTimes.com

Judy Dempsey and Jack Ewing

"BERLIN — The German government on Monday announced plans to shut all of the nation’s nuclear power plants within the next 11 years, a sharp reversal for Chancellor Angela Merkel after the Japanese disaster at Fukushima caused an electoral backlash by voters opposed to reliance on nuclear energy."

Duke Energy talks on S.C. nuke are slow but ongoing | Charlotte Business Journal

John Downey

"Santee Cooper has sold the Orlando, Fla., municipal utility an option to buy up to 10% of the plant. Duke has been negotiating to buy another piece, with Santee Cooper perhaps buying into Duke’s proposed Lee Nuclear Station near Gaffney, S.C.
Rogers has declined to discuss details of the negotiations. But sources familiar with the talks say Duke and Santee Cooper remain fairly far apart on the agreement.
“I’m trying to work something out. But the challenge is working something out,” is all Rogers will say about the status of the discussions."

SCE&G Files For Rate Adjustment Under Base Load Review Act - TheStreet

"South Carolina Electric & Gas Company, principal subsidiary of SCANA Corporation (NYSE: SCG), today filed with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina and the South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff for an overall 2.7 percent increase to its approved electric rates under provisions of a state law known as the Base Load Review Act. The BLRA effectively reduces the cost of building nuclear power plants in South Carolina by allowing the state’s regulated utilities to adjust rates annually during construction of such plants to recover related financing costs."

Nuke plant issues aired - Local / Metro - TheState.com

By Sammy Fretwell

"But the findings at the Summer plant are among a host of issues nationally that could lead to tighter restrictions on U.S. nuclear power plants studied in response to the Japan earthquake. Many federal reviews of the nation’s 104 nuclear plants wound up with findings similar to those at the Summer plant. That included reviews at Duke Energy’s Oconee nuclear station near Seneca."

Customer Satisfaction Key to Ramping up Home Energy Efficiency | Environmental and Energy Study Institute

: "That was the take-home message of last Friday’s presentation by EESI and the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina (ECSC). The presentation was part of a conference on innovative approaches to promoting home energy efficiency hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy Better Buildings Program."