South Carolina Code 58-33-295. Office of Regulatory staffing; expert witnesses
(1) two additional positions when there is one nuclear unit that is subject to an application for a project development order, an application or a combined application under this article, or that is under construction or abandonment and eligible for entry of future revised rates orders; and
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 58-33-295
- application: means an application for a base load review order under the terms of this article. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
- Combined application: means a base load review application which is combined with an application for a certificate under the Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act, or which involves a plant located outside of the State of South Carolina, and at the utility's option may be combined with an application for new electric rates under § 58-27-860. 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
- Project development order: means an order establishing the prudence of a utility's decision to incur preconstruction costs associated with a nuclear plant or potential nuclear plant. 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
- 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
- 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
(2) one additional position for each additional nuclear unit thereafter.
The utility or utilities electing to file an application, project development order, or combined application under this article shall bear the costs associated with these positions, including all salaries, benefits, expenses, and charges, in proportion to the number of these units that they own in whole or in part as a percentage of the total number of these units in the regulatory process under this article at the time. The Office of Regulatory Staff annually must certify to the Department of Revenue by May first the amounts to be assessed. By July first of each year, the Department of Revenue shall assess each utility for its assessment, which assessment must be due and payable by July fifteenth. The assessments must be charged against a utility by the Department of Revenue and collected in the manner provided by law for the collection of taxes from utilities, including the enforcement and collection provisions of Article 1, Chapter 54 of Title 12, and paid into the State Treasury as are other taxes collected by the Department of Revenue for the State less the Department of Revenue’s actual incremental increase in the cost of administration. These assessments are in addition to any amounts assessed pursuant to §§ 58-4-60 and 58-5-480 and must be deposited in a special fund in the State Treasury from which the salaries, benefits, expenses, and charges must be paid.
(B) The Executive Director of the Office of Regulatory Staff is authorized to employ expert witnesses and other professional engineering, construction, or other experts or consultants as the executive director considers necessary to assist the regulatory staff in its review and audit of project development order applications, applications, combined applications, and applications for revised rates orders; participation in proceedings under this article; and in auditing and monitoring on-going construction of plants eligible for revised rates orders. The compensation paid to these persons may not exceed the compensation ordinarily paid by the regulated industry for these specialists. Upon agreement between the utility and the Office of Regulatory Staff or upon approval of the review committee established under § 58-3-20, the compensation and expenses must be paid by the utility or utilities filing an application under this article.
(C) Compensation and expenses paid by the utility under this article must be treated as capital costs of the plant for ratemaking purposes.