Utility regulators weigh increased power rates for Dominion Energy SC customers

An electrical worker surveys damaged power lines. (File/Darren McCollester/Getty Images)

COLUMBIA — Dominion Energy residential customers in South Carolina could see their electric rates go up more than $15 monthly under an agreement reached by the utility company and consumer advocates.

State utility regulators are hearing testimony throughout the week on a proposed settlement agreement that would leave the average residential customer paying $148 a month for power starting Sept. 1, according to a statement by the utility company.

The last increase to the base electric rate charged to Dominion’s customers came in September 2021. However, residential rates had risen by roughly $20 monthly in the interim due to the rising cost of power plant fuels such as coal and natural gas, according to the state’s utility watchdog.

In May, customers were finally granted some relief. Dominion lowered its rates as fuel costs decreased, a savings worth about $13 on the average power bill.

That reduction could be short-lived.

If the Public Service Commission approves the deal, those savings will be wiped out. On top of that, residential bills will go up an additional $2 per month compared to what customers were previously paying.

Still, the increase is less than the proposal the Virginia-headquartered company made in March, which would have resulted in a typical monthly bill of $151 for residential customers.

Here’s how much SC power customers are still paying for a failed nuclear project

“For families contending with rising costs at the grocery store and elsewhere, we hope this settlement can make a difference,” Kate Mixson, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, said in a statement.

Mixson also praised a $3 million expansion of Dominion’s energy efficiency program, being paid for by the publicly-traded utility’s shareholders rather than passed on in customers bills, and an extension of bill credits for customers with their own solar panels that were included in the settlement deal.

Dominion Energy South Carolina’s customer base has grown by 40,000 customers over the past five years to a total of 800,000.

In that time, the company says it’s spent $1.6 billion on improvements to its electric system, including 19,000 new transformers, 1,600 miles of power lines, new switchyards and substations, power plant upgrades and technology upgrades.

Dominion said the rate hike, which brings the utility’s annual revenue in South Carolina to more than $300 million, will allow it to recover a portion of the cost of those investments, “needed to keep our plants running, our system reliable and our grid secure,” as well as cover the ongoing cost of operations.

“Dominion Energy is committed to providing reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy that powers our customers every day,” a company statement read.

The Public Service Commission has not yet said when it expects to make a final decision on the proposed deal.

Meanwhile, Dominion customers continue to pay for the abandoned expansion of the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Fairfield County. The utility will continue to charge customers over the next 15 years for $2.3 billion worth of debt associated with a nuclear reactor that was never constructed. The boondoggle costs the average residential customer about $8 a month, according to documents from the state Office of Regulatory Staff.

Other utility rate increases

Dominion’s is the second rate increase sought by a South Carolina utility this year.

Last week, state utility regulators officially signed off on a settlement agreement between consumer advocates and Duke Energy Carolinas, which has about 830,000 customers in the Upstate — 658,000 of those being residential payers.

After hearing testimony in late May, utility regulators approved the agreement, which will increase the average residential customer’s bill by about $12 a month starting Aug. 1. That will take the average residential customer’s monthly bill to about $154.

A second, smaller bump will raise bills by an additional $6.42 per month in August 2026, bringing the annual revenue generated from the utility’s Upstate customers to $323 million.

Utility regulators weigh increased power rates for Duke Energy’s Upstate customers

The North Carolina-headquartered utility used tax benefits from congressional Republican’s 2017 tax cuts to buy down the initial hike, returning them to customers sooner than planned to make the rate increase more incremental.

The change marks the first increase to the base electric rate charged to Duke’s Upstate customers in more than five years. However, residential rates have risen by roughly $20 monthly over that time span due to the cost of power plant fuels such as coal and natural gas, as well as other costs such as energy efficiency programs.

In its decision last week, the Public Service Commission yanked one expense from the settlement agreement. Regulators did not allow Duke Energy to pass on to customers $274 million worth of environmental clean up of its coal ash ponds.

Utility companies historically disposed of coal ash in retaining ponds on site near coal-fired power plants. But coal ash contains toxins, such as lead, mercury and chromium. If those ponds spill, they can contaminate surrounding land and water sources.

Both the recently approved Duke Energy deal and the proposed Dominion Energy deal allow the companies a 9.94% rate of return.

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