South Carolina Code 58-33-270. Base load review orders; contents; petition for modification; settlement agreements between Office of Regulatory Staff and applicant
(1) that the utility’s decision to proceed with construction of the plant is prudent and reasonable considering the information available to the utility at the time;
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 58-33-270
- application: means an application for a base load review order under the terms of this article. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
- Base load review order: means an order issued by the commission pursuant to § 58-33-270 establishing that if a plant is constructed in accordance with an approved construction schedule, approved capital costs estimates, and approved projections of in-service expenses, as defined herein, the plant is considered to be used and useful for utility purposes such that its capital costs are prudent utility costs and are properly included in rates. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
- Combined proceeding: means a proceeding to consider all aspects of a combined application. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
- commission: means Public Service Commission. See South Carolina Code 58-33-20
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- imprudence: includes , but is not limited to, lack of caution, care, or diligence as determined by the commission in regard to any action or decision taken by the utility or one acting on its behalf including, but not limited to, its officers, board, agents, employees, contractors, subcontractors, consultants affecting the project, or any other person acting on behalf of or for the utility affecting the project. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
- plant: means a new coal or nuclear fueled electrical generating unit or units or facility that is designed to be operated at a capacity factor exceeding seventy percent annually, has a gross initial generation capacity of three hundred fifty megawatts or more, and is intended in whole or in part to serve retail customers of a utility in South Carolina, and for a coal plant, includes Best Available Control Technology, as defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, for the control of air emissions. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
- Proceeding: means the proceeding to consider an application filed under this chapter. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
- regulatory staff: means the executive director or the executive director and the employees of the Office of Regulatory Staff. See South Carolina Code 58-33-20
- Return on equity: means the return on common equity established in the base load review order for a plant. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
- Revised rates: means a revised schedule of electric rates and charges reflecting a change to the utility's then current nonfuel rates and charges to add incremental revenue requirements related to a base load plant as authorized in this article. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Utility: means a person owning or operating equipment or facilities for generating, transmitting, or delivering electricity to South Carolina retail customers for compensation but it shall not include electric cooperatives, municipalities, the South Carolina Public Service Authority, or a person furnishing electricity only to himself, itself, its residents, employees, or tenants when the electricity is not resold or used by others. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
- Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act: means § 58-33-10 and other applicable provisions of this chapter. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
(2) for plants located in this State, that the utility has satisfied the requirements of § 58-33-160 of the Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act, either in a past proceeding or in the current proceeding if the current proceeding is a combined proceeding; and
(3) for plants located outside South Carolina, that the utility has satisfied the requirements of § 58-33-160(1)(a), 58-33-160(1)(d), and 58-33-160(1)(f) of the Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act.
(B) The base load review order shall establish:
(1) the anticipated construction schedule for the plant including contingencies;
(2) the anticipated components of capital costs and the anticipated schedule for incurring them, including specified contingencies;
(3) the return on equity established in conformity with § 58-33-220(16);
(4) the choice of the specific type of unit or units and major components of the plant;
(5) the qualification and selection of principal contractors and suppliers for construction of the plant; and
(6) the inflation indices used by the utility for costs of plant construction, covering major cost components or groups of related cost components. Each utility shall provide its own indices, including: the source of the data for each index, if the source is external to the company, or the methodology for each index which is compiled from internal utility data, the method of computation of inflation from each index, a calculated overall weighted index for capital costs, and a five-year history of each index on an annual basis.
(C) If revised rates are requested, the base load review order shall specify initial revised rates reflecting the utility’s current investment in the plant which must be determined using the standards set forth in § 58-33-280(B) and implemented according to § 58-33-280(D).
(D) The base load review order shall establish the rate design and class allocation factors to be used in calculating revised rates related to the plant. In establishing revised rates, all factors, allocations, and rate designs shall be as determined in the utility’s last rate order or as otherwise previously established by the commission, except that the additional revenue requirement to be collected through revised rates shall be allocated among customer classes based on the utility’s South Carolina firm peak demand data from the prior year.
(E) As circumstances warrant, the utility may petition the commission, with notice to the Office of Regulatory Staff, for an order modifying any of the schedules, estimates, findings, class allocation factors, rate designs, or conditions that form part of any base load review order issued under this section. The commission shall grant the relief requested if, after a hearing, the commission finds:
(1) as to the changes in the schedules, estimates, findings, or conditions, that the evidence of record justifies a finding that the changes are not the result of imprudence on the part of the utility; and
(2) as to the changes in the class allocation factors or rate designs, that the evidence of record indicates the proposed class allocation factors or rate designs are just and reasonable.
(F) The commission shall consider a request under § 58-33-270(E) in a new docket which pursuant to § 58-33-240 must be subject to the requirement that the relief requested in this article is considered granted if not denied by order within six months of the date of filing. If the commission fails to issue an order within the period prescribed in this section, a party may move that the commission issue an order granting or denying the application. If the commission fails to issue an order within ten days after the motion is served, the application will be considered granted.
(G) The commission promptly shall schedule a hearing to consider any settlement agreement entered into between the Office of Regulatory Staff, as the party representing the public interest in the proceedings, and the utility applicant, provided that all parties shall have been given a reasonable opportunity to conduct discovery in the docket by the time the hearing is held. The commission may accept the settlement agreement as disposing of the matter, and issue an order adopting its terms, if it determines that the terms of the settlement agreement comport with the terms of this act.