Dominion Energy South Carolina files request to increase retail electric rates

Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc. (DESC), which filed a request late Friday to increase its retail electric rates with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSC), today presented its settlement agreement in the case to state regulators during a scheduled hearing.

The requested rate increase is the first in nearly four years, according to DESC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dominion Energy Inc. If approved by the PSC, the proposal would allow DESC to recover some of its investments in operations, reliability, and grid security.

DESC says it reached a settlement agreement in the pending general electric rate case with other parties of record and now seeks approval of it by the South Carolina PSC.

Intervening parties engaged with DESC for several months to reach the settlement agreement. They include the South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff, the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs, the South Carolina Energy Users Committee, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, the Coastal Conservation League, CMC Steel, Walmart, and the U.S. Department of Defense, among others.

According to DESC, the settlement includes all parties signing on or not opposing the settlement agreement. Since 2019, DESC says it has added roughly 40,000 new electric customers and invested $1.6 billion in its electric system to provide reliable, affordable, and cleaner energy.

If approved by the PSC, DESC said that starting Sept. 1, the bill of a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per month would be about $148.

A one-time bill credit of $7.5 million funded by shareholders would be applied this year for residential and small general service customers, said DESC, and the Neighborhood Energy Efficiency Program budget would increase by $3 million in shareholder funds over five years beginning in 2025.

The proposed settlement also supports an authorized return on common equity of 9.94 percent; a regulatory capital structure of approximately 52.5 percent equity and 47.5 percent debt; and a revenue increase of $219 million.

There is no change to Dominion Energy’s existing financial guidance, according to the company’s statement.

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