South Carolina regulators in November will decide whether to maintain a temporary rate cut ordered by the South Carolina General Assembly, essentially reducing the impact of a 2007 law that allowed Scana subsidiary SCE&G to pass on costs to ratepayers for the now-failed VC Summer newbuild project, but SCE&G has challenged the assembly in an attempt to keep the original 2007 law intact (NIW Sep.8'17). South Carolina lawmakers passed two provisions, one to lower SCE&G's rates by 15%, the other to order the state regulator to rule on permanent rates after Nov. 1 and before Dec. 21. The first law - originally vetoed by the governor but upheld by a general assembly veto override - orders the South Carolina Public Service Commission (SCPSC) to set an "experimental," or temporary, rate beginning retroactively from Apr. 1 until the commission sets a permanent new rate toward the end of this year. Moody's Investor Service said, "the new legislation may further pressure the SCPSC to set rates that are unusually low or significantly delay or deny recovery; however we think it is unlikely they would establish rates that are lower than the temporary rates set by the new legislation."
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