S.C. utility Dominion gets final OK to increase electric rates

State utility regulators have unanimously approved a settlement that will allow Dominion Energy to increase its electric rates in South Carolina later this summer.

The agreement between the company and several groups that had challenged its proposal to raise bills was announced earlier this month.

The S.C. Public Service Commission voted to approve the deal July 21, Dominion said.

Under the terms of the settlement, the company's electric rates for residential customers in the Palmetto State will rise by 1.37 percent effective Sept. 1, or about $1.81 a month for a typical household.

When Dominion formally filed for its increase nearly a year ago, it sought a 7.7 percent hike to recoup billions of dollars that it and its predecessor had invested over the previous eight years.

The reduced figure reached under the settlement is expected to generate an additional $35.6 million in annual revenue, compared to $178 million under the original proposal.

The increases for commercial customers, depending on their size, will range from 1.08 percent to 2.06 percent, down from 7.2 percent to 8.68 percent in the first proposal.

The overall average works for all ratepayers out to 1.46 percent.

"The commission's approval of our comprehensive settlement agreement is an accomplishment that all parties can be proud of, and it is a big step forward as we keep our rates in South Carolina below the national average while continuing to provide reliable, affordable and increasingly sustainable energy for Dominion Energy customers," utility spokeswoman Rhonda O'Banion said in a written statement.

The agreement prohibits the Richmond, Va.-based company from seeking another electric rate hike in South Carolina before July 1, 2023, "absent unforeseen extraordinary economic or financial conditions that may include changes in corporate tax rates."

In addition, the energy giant is committing up to $30 million in shareholder funds to help vulnerable and economically distressed customers.

The increase is the first in the state for Dominion since its acquisition of South Carolina Electric & Gas in early 2019, after the Cayce-based power company was struggling to recover from the failed expansion of the V.C. Summer nuclear plant.

The utility's roughly 700,000 South Carolina customers are scattered around the Columbia, Charleston, Orangeburg and Beaufort areas.

Earlier this year, Dominion came under fire for taking its rate request before state regulators during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company and the S.C. Office of Regulatory Staff, which represents utility customers, agreed to a six-month "pause" from public hearings in January in an effort to reach a compromise in private.

Other groups involved in the settlement included AARP, the S.C. Small Business Chamber of Commerce, the Sierra Club, the Coastal Conservation League and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

Contact John McDermott at 843-937-5572 or follow him on Twitter at @byjohnmcdermott