Majority of intervenors now say SCE&G rate hike request acceptable

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S.C. Electric & Gas Co. signed a third stipulation related to its request to increase retail electricity rates, which the majority of the case's intervenors signed off on. The latest agreement incorporates the two previous stipulations, and it signifies that the six parties that signed it have no remaining issues with the rate increase request. The request has been hotly contested from multiple camps since it was announced in January.

Staff Report
Published May 26, 2010

S.C. Electric & Gas Co. has signed a third stipulation related to its request to increase its retail electric rates.

Six of the nine parties that had filed as intervenors in the rate case — the S.C. Office of Regulatory Staff, the S.C. Energy Users Committee, Wal-Mart Stores East LP and Sam’s East Inc., The Women’s Shelter, the Federal Executive Agencies and Frank Knapp Jr. — have now signed off on the stipulation, which still must be approved by the Public Service Commission of South Carolina.

A seventh intervenor, Pamela Greenlaw, was named in the stipulation, but her signature does not appear on the stipulation as appears on the docket on the Public Service Commission's website. The remaining intervenors, CMC Steel South Carolina and the Department of the Navy, were not named in the stipulation.

An intervenor is defined as a party that receives permission from the presiding legal body to join a case already begun by other parties, because it says it has a claim in the case. Intervenors are different from protestors, or parties that formally object to a proceeding. Some 600 parties have filed to protest the request, according to the case docket.

This third stipulation incorporates the provisions of two previous stipulations. It signifies that no contested issues now remain among the signing parties and that a consensus of support has been achieved for the following measures:

• An overall 4.88% increase to SCE&G’s retail electric rates to be implemented as follows:
       2.50% in July 2010
       1.20% in July 2011
       1.18% in July 2012
• A one-time credit of $25 million to SCE&G’s electric customers to be applied over 12 months.
• Application of more than $48 million in state tax credits to the benefit of customers over 24 months.
• The setting of SCE&G’s return on equity at 10.7%.
• The 12-month pilot of a weather normalization mechanism for SCE&G’s electricity rates.
• Limiting SCE&G’s ability to implement additional increases to its retail base rates prior to June 2012.

The rate increase request has been decried since it was announced in January. The rate increase, originally set at 9.5%, has since been cut by nearly half.

Previous coverage:

• SCE&G to decrease rate request with credit to customers
• Packed house pummels proposed SCE&G rate hike
• Rate increase proposal puts heat on SCE&G
• SCE&G seeking 9.5% rate increase for upgrades