Santee Cooper's energy roadmap is approved, but some say the route is risky

Santee Cooper's energy roadmap is approved, but some say the route is risky

Regulators have signed off on Santee Cooper's proposal to keep up with demand for electricity in the years ahead, including the construction of a large Lowcountry power plant that's raising concerns from environmental groups.

The S.C. Public Service Commission approved the "integrated resource plan" on Feb. 15, about nine months after the state-owned utility submitted its long-range energy roadmap.

The 236-page document calls for adding more solar power to the grid, investing in battery-storage technology and building a large new natural gas-fired plant, most likely in Colleton County, with Dominion Energy South Carolina to replace coal-fired units that will be shut down.

Santee Cooper has estimated it will cost $23.4 billion to expand its electricity sources by 2040 while also cutting carbon emissions by more than half.

"The approval lets us ... continue with the planning we need to bring significant new solar and natural gas generation closer to being online. It gives a balanced resource plan that will enable Santee Cooper to meet future energy needs," spokeswoman Mollie Gore said Feb. 20.

She called the new plant a necessity as both a baseload unit and a backup to keep the lights on.

"We need the natural gas generation for reliability and to follow the sun and integrate more solar into the system," she said.

The Moncks Corner-based utility has not formally decided where it will build the new plant, she added, but most of the focus is on Dominion's retired coal-fired Canadys Station on the Edisto River, between Walterboro and St. George. Santee Cooper also had been considering an undisclosed location in Hampton County.

Either site would require a new natural-gas pipeline.

"As we begin to put meat on the bones then we'll be looking at specific details," Gore said. "We'll be presenting a comprehensive plan when the time comes, as soon as we can get that assembled."

Dominion Energy singled out the Canadys site in its South Carolina energy plan that was approved last year. It said the "optimum replacement for remaining coal generation is a large, highly efficient natural gas-fired combined cycle resource shared with Santee Cooper, potentially at a former Dominion Energy generation site in Colleton County."

"Additionally, building a shared resource could create economies of scale for participating utilities, which could reduce costs to customers, including the electric cooperative utilities Santee Cooper serves," the Richmond, Va.-based company said in a written statement.

The proposed project has its critics.

Kate Mixson, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, which has been reviewing Santee Cooper's plan with the Coastal Conservation League and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said the groups were disappointed that regulators took a "full steam ahead" approach rather than "proceed with caution" last week.

She said the Public Service Commission "sort of ignored criticism that came from multiple intervenors showing that Santee Cooper's plan slow walks the rollout of solar and storage while also understating the potential costs and the risks of the gas plant."

Mixson also noted that the utility is expected to raise its power rates early next year to recoup up to $680 million in unbudgeted fuel expenses that have been piling up since 2022.

"Doubling down by moving forward with the new gas plant would put its customers further at risk," she said.

Aside from the Public Service Commission's decision, Mixson said the groups she represents are concerned about a pair of related House and Senate energy bills that have been filed in Columbia.

Both would give electric utilities in the state "a blank check to build out whatever they want with very little regulatory oversight," she said.

"It's removing the safety rails," Mixson said. "These are regulatory protections to make sure utilities are making smart and informed and fair decisions that benefit ratepayers."

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