Debt

SC Applies For Lost Wages Assistance Grant

In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, recovery efforts to salvage the economic destruction are being made. The SC Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW), alongside Governor McMaster, plans to apply for the FEMA’s Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program. The grant will await federal approval.

“Our state should be proud of the economic recovery efforts and the progress we have made to date, but we know that some of our citizens are still struggling in the wake of this pandemic,” explains McMaster. “We’ve chosen to participate in this program in a way that will provide additional unemployment relief from the federal government while maintaining our strong record of fiscal responsibility and protecting the interests of South Carolinians.”

Gov. McMaster authorized DEW to apply toward the federal aid via a letter. The grant itself was originally made by President Donald Trump as a means of compensating those unemployed due to the ongoing pandemic. When a state’s application is accepted, an additional weekly $300 in benefits per person will be added.

“We know there are citizens who are still in great need,” explains DEW Executive Director Dan Ellzey. “DEW has been testing changes in its benefits portal based upon guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Labor. If South Carolina is approved, we will work as quickly as possible with our vendor to get the application into the system.”

Santee Cooper

Santee Cooper’s Legal Costs For Current And Former Employees Reaches Over $1 Million

Featured Image: The State

Santee Cooper is, once again, catching heat for its reckless spending.

Recent reports obtained by the Post and Courier show that Santee Cooper has racked up $1.7 million in legal fees by covering the cost of attorney fees for eight current and former employees, executives, and board members.

This comes after recent concerns of the state-owned utility’s decision to hire a new CEO and Deputy CEO with a million dollar a year and $560,000 a year salary, respectively, while in billions of dollars of debt.

According to the Post and Courier, the legal costs can be traced back to late 2017 when the unfinished V.C. Summer plant was abandoned by the state-owned utility and continues to grow as of last month when the records were obtained.

Not included in the $1.7 million, are the funds being spent on attorneys to represent the utility itself.

While the records don’t show the exact work being performed, a spokeswoman for Santee Cooper told the Post and Courier, the costs were tied to civil lawsuits against the utility.

One of those lawsuits pits the state-owned utility against its largest customer, the electric cooperatives who purchase their power from Santee Cooper. In the lawsuit, the cooperatives claim Santee Cooper kept the problems of the V.C. Summer project hidden from them and are suing so their customers won’t be held responsible for paying off the debt. However, as of this week, South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal put the lawsuit on hold further delaying the outcome.

More recently, Dominion Energy attorneys sent a letter to the state-owned utility demanding Santee Cooper pay for a portion of Dominion’s costs for the failed V.C. Summer project. The letter referred to the agreement between SCE&G and Santee Cooper to build the abandoned reactors, a project Santee Cooper owned 45 percent of.

As Santee Cooper’s $4 billion debt continues to increase by around one million dollars a day, the utility finds itself owing even more money while continuing to spend causing the millions of direct-serve and cooperative customers throughout the state to worry about the future of utility rates.

News

10 Hot-Button Questions For Presidential Candidates In The Upcoming Election

The 2020 Presidential Election is right around the corner and the candidates are making their way to all the big stops along the campaign trail. As a key state in the race, South Carolinians can expect to see many of the presidential hopefuls in the Palmetto State.

And, while there are obvious national issues that the candidates are likely to address, there are a few key topics South Carolina residents should be asking the candidates about. Below, are ten questions that matter to South Carolinians.

1. Do you support offshore drilling off of the coasts of states like South Carolina?

Offshore drilling is a hot topic amongst many South Carolinians. Earlier this year, U.S. Representative Joe Cunningham caused a stir after he blew an air horn during a House subcommittee hearing to call attention to how loud and disturbing seismic blast-testing is to marine life.

2. Do you believe the private sector is best suited to meet our country’s energy needs?

A major topic of conversation over the past year was and continues to be the future of Santee Cooper. The state-owned utility found itself billions of dollars in debt after abandoning its V.C. Summer project, creating the largest financial disaster in our state’s history. Now, the question is whether or not to sell to a private utility. In the case that it’s not sold the debt would fall onto the millions of Santee Cooper direct serve and electric cooperative customers living in South Carolina.

3. What are your thoughts on teachers’ pay in South Carolina?

Teachers in South Carolina are fed up with the current education system and it’s showing. With experiencing a statewide shortage, South Carolina ranks in the top 10 worst states for teachers. In May, many teachers protested and demanded higher wages and many other changes to their current working conditions.

4. What are your views on the legalization of marijuana?

With the legalization of marijuana happening in many states across the country, whether medicinal or recreational, the topic made it to the top of the list in the 2018-2019 South Carolina legislative session. However, it wasn’t passed through which means it will most likely be brought back up in the next legislative session and South Carolinians are paying attention.

5. What is your plan for affordable housing?

The cost of living in the Lowcountry and surrounding areas continues to rise significantly as people from around the country pour into our state. Affordable housing in South Carolina is a major issue and one that many residents are worried about.

6. Do you believe the minimum wage should be increased?

Many feel that while the cost of living in our state is increasing, pay is not. During the previous legislative session, a bill was introduced to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $17 per hour in the state of South Carolina. Many South Carolinians are hoping to see an increase in pay to balance out the higher cost of living.

7. What are your views on the use of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar?

As climate change becomes an ever alarming issue not only in the United States but around the globe, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are becoming more essential to our future. Incentives such as the solar investment tax credit (ITC) allow more people to afford the high costs of installing solar panels onto their home.

8. As president, how would you help to relieve the high costs of healthcare?

Healthcare continues to not only be a hot-button issue but is also a detrimental one for so many South Carolina citizens. In 2013 alone, 56 million Americans struggled to pay healthcare-related costs, that’s one out of five adults.

9. Student debt burdens millions in the United States and South Carolina is not immune, how do you plan on helping to relieve this pressure from young people?

Student debt has topped $1.5 trillion in the United States and the amount continues to rise. This debt burdens and weighs down young people looking to start their careers and adult lives. The rising student debt is an issue many South Carolinians worry about every day.

10. America’s infrastructure is crumbling. How would you fund expand funding to fix our roads and bridges across the country and in South Carolina?

Our country’s infrastructure is in major need of repair. As roads and bridges crumble, our daily commutes and school bus routes become more dangerous. While funding infrastructure is expensive it is essential to the well-being of our state and its residents.

Featured

South Carolina Senior Citizens Express Concerns Over Increased Santee Cooper Rates

Featured Image Source: Janet Morgan / MyHorryNews.com

Earlier this week local Myrtle Beach residents gathered for a town hall meeting to discuss the pros and cons of selling Santee Cooper. Held at the Chapin Memorial Library in Myrtle Beach there seemed to be an even mixture of opinions on the issue.

One attendee, South Carolina senior citizen Julia Brinkley is a retired Santee Cooper customer on a fixed income and is worried what rate increases could mean for her. As with many residents on a fixed income, Brinkley is already taking measures to monitor her power usage and fears that she won’t be able to afford power if rates increase even more.

Other attendees, such as Tracy Vreeland, Santee Cooper’s Public Relations Specialist, were there to remind residents that Santee Cooper’s rates were among the lowest in the state. And, while they may not remain the lowest, with more rate hikes to come due to Santee Cooper’s debt, she assured residents they would remain competitive.

On the other hand, South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Frank Knapp Jr., led the discussion on the importance of selling Santee Cooper.

Knapp’s concerns started years ago when Santee Cooper and SCE&G teamed up to begin the V.C. Summer Nuclear Project, a partnership which Santee Cooper agreed to take on 45% of the debt for. As the project went on and the debt continued to grow, customers saw a 15% rate increase in 2015, followed by full abandonment of the project in 2017 by both utility companies.

Knapp went on to say without the sale of Santee Cooper, there is nothing to stop Santee Cooper’s rates to increase even more to pay off their more than $7 billion of debt.

Read the full story here.

Featured

Take This Quiz: Will The Santee Cooper Debt Affect You And Your Family?

In 2013, Santee Cooper and SCE&G began construction on their V.C. Summer Nuclear Project hoping to bring new energy sources to their customers. Four years later, Santee Cooper and it’s direct-serve and co-op customers remain billions in debt and growing a million each day, while SCE&G customers were sold to Dominion and have been elevated from some but not all of their debt burden.

Santee Cooper alone has $8 billion in debt, half of which comes from the failed nuclear project. If all things remain unchanged, the state-owned utility has no other option but to raise rates on all direct serve and co-op customers in order to pay off the debt. That is, unless, state lawmakers make the decision to sell to a private utility who can absorb the debt.

How will the failure of V.C. Summer impact your family’s bottom line?

Take this quick quiz to find out!

Palmetto Promise Institute, an organization that researches, studies, and promotes public policy which supports a free and flourishing South Carolina, has a quiz that will test your knowledge on the Santee Cooper fiasco and let you know if you’ll be affected by the debt.

Take the quiz here.

News

South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce President Explains Why Lawmakers Should Sell Santee Cooper

Featured Image Source: S.C. Small Business Chamber of Commerce Facebook

Last week, the Senate committee responsible for studying the sale of Santee Cooper, not to be confused with the joint evaluation and recommendation committee, met for the first time. This committee consists of Senators Nikki Setzler, Shane Massey, Luke Rankin, Bradley Hutto, Larry Grooms, Paul Campbell, Tom Davis, Ronnie Sabb, and Margie Bright Matthews.

As they continue their meetings to discuss the potential sale of Santee Cooper, more South Carolina residents continue to speak out on the issue.

The latest to voice their concerns is Frank Knapp Jr., president, and CEO of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce. In an op-ed to The Island Packet, a Hilton Head publication, Knapp addressed the massive debt owed by Santee Cooper and his hope that lawmakers will sell the state-owned utility to a privately-owned utility.

Frustrated by lawmakers stalling and putting off making a decision, Knapp expressed his concern that Santee Cooper’s direct serve and co-op customers will be responsible for paying off the $8 billion debt.

When SCE&G and Santee Cooper abandoned the V.C. Summer Project in 2017, which both parties willingly participated in, customers of the utilities were left with billions of dollars of debt, no new electricity generation, and a big hole in the ground.

Knapp went on to compare Santee Cooper’s current situation to that of SCE&G after abandoning the V.C. Summer Project. While SCE&G only owed $5 billion, legislators took action and resolved the crisis, pointing out that the utility’s customers weren’t responsible for the debt and instead pushed for a 15% rate cut. To compare, Santee Cooper owes over $8 billion and has yet to address paying off this debt.

With no plan for the future, Santee Cooper will have no choice but to turn to its direct serve and co-op customers to pay off this debt through increased rates for decades. Only if Santee Cooper is sold to one of the private companies that have offered to pay off the debt and lower rates, it’s customers will be spared from paying the $8 billion debt.

To read the full letter visit our source here.

Featured

South Carolina Lawmakers Issues Santee Cooper and Education

S.C. Senate Creates Another New Committee To Review All Santee Cooper Options

Featured Image Source: Andrew Whitaker, Post & Courier

Last week the South Carolina Senate created a new committee to help decide the future of Santee Cooper.

This decision comes just one week after S.C. Senate President Harvey Peeler decided not to move forward with ICF Consulting, the consulting firm vetting and researching the offers received for the state-owned utility.

The State reported that the new Senate “Select Committee” will work separately from the legislative committee studying ICF’s recommendations and will focus on reviewing all options for the utility. Other options include an outside firm coming in to manage the utility, long-term power agreements, or structural reforms.

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey and Senate Minority Leader Nikki Setzler will co-chair the new committee. Both senators previously led the committee that investigated the failed nuclear reactors that helped create the massive $8 billion debt.

According to The State, Santee Cooper’s direct-serve customers will possibly have to pay around $6,200 more per household in higher rates over the next four decades and their co-op customers will have to pay $4,200 more per household to pay off the debt created by the failed Santee Cooper V.C. summer project.

Poll Shows That Informed Voters Want Santee Cooper Sold

Last week the South Carolina Senate decided to not move forward with the consultant responsible for the vetting and research for the possible sale of Santee Cooper, a move that could leave the 2 million direct-serve and co-op customers of Santee Cooper responsible for the $8 billion debt they owe.

Despite this decision, S.C. Club For Growth, a group of South Carolinians whose mission is to promote economic growth in the state, recently released a poll that showed overwhelming support for the sale of Santee Cooper among informed voters.

Nearly three-quarters of the state was more likely to support the Santee Cooper sale if a private company agreed to pay down the $8 billion debt and prevent customers from carrying the weight of paying down the debt.

However, the poll also found that a large amount of the state is still unaware of the V.C. Summer Project that caused a majority of the debt owed by Santee Cooper.

The poll showed that only 48.3% of the state is even aware of the debacle. And, when you look at just Santee Cooper and co-op customers, that number is even lower.

With news of the South Carolina Senate not wanting to move forward with ICF Consulting, the future of Santee Cooper continues to be unclear. And, as more South Carolinians become aware of the billion dollar problem and the effect it may have on them, frustrations will continue to grow and support for the sale will increase.