FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New poll shows many don’t know about Santee Cooper’s V.C. Summer debt
Columbia, S.C. – Today, S.C. Club for Growth released a poll that shows many South Carolinians don’t know much about the failed V.C. Summer nuclear project that has led state-owned Santee Cooper to the brink of a debt disaster. A full summary is below.
Upon the release, S.C. Club for Growth board member Dennis Burt remarked, “Santee Cooper customers are the sole source for repaying more than $4 billion in debt and $4 billion more in interest from the failed V.C. Summer nuclear project. That means the average Santee Cooper customer will pay at least $6,200 for the failed project over the next several decades, if things remain the same. The Santee Cooper and co-op customers who are on the hook for this debt have a right to know how the potential paths forward will impact them.”
Survey of South Carolina Electric Ratepayers
Regarding Santee Cooper/V.C. Summer Debt
Clout Research survey conducted on behalf of S.C. Club for Growth
Highlights
- Slightly less than half of South Carolinians are familiar with the failed V.C. Summer nuclear project. That number is lower among Santee Cooper and co-op customers.
- The more South Carolinians learn about Santee Cooper’s disastrous finances and potential provisions of a sale, the more likely they are to support the sale of Santee Cooper.
- Hearing that a private company would pay down Santee Cooper’s $8 billion in debt and prevent the debt from being passed on to customers was the single issue most likely to make South Carolina ratepayers more likely to support the sale of Santee Cooper to a private entity.
- More than 80 percent of South Carolinians would rather see a price for Santee Cooper set by an independent auditor or the market than have state legislators set the price.
- South Carolinians care about Santee Cooper’s public lands and waterways – and are more likely to support the sale to a private entity if those public lands and waterways are protected.
Link to topline report from Clout Research
Key Findings
South Carolinians aren’t overwhelmingly aware of the V.C. Summer nuclear debacle. Despite being one of the most massive financial disasters in our state’s history, slightly less than half (48.3%) of respondents are familiar with the failed V.C. Summer nuclear project. Forty percent are not familiar with the project, and 11.7% aren’t sure. Only 46% of Santee Cooper and co-op customers report being familiar with the V.C. Summer project.
The more South Carolinians learn about Santee Cooper’s finances and potential provisions of a sale, the more likely they are to support the sale of Santee Cooper. Before learning about Santee Cooper’s finances and the potential provisions of a Santee Cooper sale, only slightly fewer South Carolinians believe it is okay for a state to own a power company like Santee Cooper (25.9%) than believe that utilities should be private (28.7%). However, learning more about the potential terms of a sale leads to an immediate 15-point increase in those who believe utilities should be private (44.5%) and an 8-point decrease in the percentage of South Carolinians who believe it is okay for a state to own a utility (17.9%).
Hearing that a private company would pay down Santee Cooper’s $8 billion in debt and prevent the debt from being passed on to customers was the issue the most South Carolina ratepayers say make them more likely to support the sale of Santee Cooper to a private entity. Here is how the information ranked:
- A private company would pay down Santee Cooper’s $8 billion in debt and prevent the debt from being passed on to customers. (71.9% more likely)
- If Santee Cooper is sold to a private company, public lands and waterways, including Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie, would be preserved and protected. (71.4% more likely)
- If Santee Cooper is sold to a private company, Santee Cooper could receive refunds on the $540 million they’ve already paid for the failed V.C. Summer nuclear project. (67.7% more likely)
- An outright sale of Santee Cooper would have the benefit of getting state government out of the utility business. (60.3% more likely)
- Santee Cooper has over $4.5 billion in debt related to the failed VC Summer project, and $4 billion more in debt beyond that – Santee Cooper will eventually have to raise electric rates to pay of that debt, or seek a bailout from taxpayers. (55.3% more likely)
- Without a sale of Santee Cooper, the utility’s nuclear project failure will potentially cost each Santee Cooper customer $13/month for the next 40 years –a total of $6200 from each customer, on top of the $540 million customers have already paid. (42.6% more likely)
More than 80 percent of South Carolinians would rather see a price for Santee Cooper set by an independent auditor or the market than have state legislators set the price. Most South Carolinians (58.2%) believe that the study committee should bring in outside experts to set a fair and reasonable value of Santee Cooper, in keeping with the committee’s recent decision to bring a consultant on board to help with that process. 24.2% preferred the value be determined by whatever market value potential buyers are willing to pay while only 17.6% of respondents indicated that a price should be set by the state legislature.
South Carolinians care about Santee Cooper’s public lands and waterways – and are more likely to support the sale to a private entity if those public lands and waterways are protected. Understanding that Santee Cooper’s public lands and waterways, including Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie, would be preserved and protected led 71.4% of respondents to indicate they would be more likely to support the sale of Santee Cooper. 12.6% indicated they would be less likely, while 16% said it makes no difference. Among Santee Cooper and co-op customers, the percentage that were more likely to support a sale knowing public lands would be protected and preserved rose to 77.4%.
Statement from S.C. Club for Growth Board Member Dennis Burt:
South Carolinians already pay the highest electricity bills in the South, and some of the highest in the nation. The V.C. Summer nuclear debacle has only made things worse. While we’ve heard a lot about rate reductions and the potential for permanent rate relief for SCE&G customers, there is no relief in sight for Santee Cooper and electric co-op customers.
Despite several meetings of the legislative committee established to study the future of Santee Cooper, we haven’t heard much about what rate relief might look like for Santee Cooper and co-op customers, or how that might happen.
Santee Cooper customers are the sole source for repaying more than $4 billion in debt and $4 billion more in interest from the failed V.C. Summer nuclear project. That means the average Santee Cooper customer will pay at least $6,200 for the failed project over the next several decades, if things remain the same. The Santee Cooper and co-op customers who are on the hook for this debt have a right to know how the potential paths forward will impact them.
As conservatives who believe in small, limited government, we feel our state has for too long turned a blind eye to the fact that Santee Cooper is owned by our state government with no independent regulatory oversight, and as a byproduct makes poor decisions for ratepayers.
We believe Santee Cooper is broken and it must be fixed. Santee Cooper or its successor should be subject to the same market forces, oversight, and reforms that other energy companies face. The days of Santee Cooper insiders enriching themselves and their friends on the backs of ratepayers need to end. This survey demonstrates that South Carolinians have been left in the dark regarding the mountain of debt they are on the hook to pay off. Once informed, South Carolinians overwhelming want change.
Enough is enough. It’s time for South Carolina’s leaders to pursue a timely, market-based sale of Santee Cooper that protects customers and taxpayers from further pain. There is no scenario in which Santee Cooper and its underlying assets will rise in value. In fact, its problems are only going to fester.
The South Carolina Public Service Authority Evaluation and Recommendation Committee must create a process that leads to South Carolina accepting bids for Santee Cooper.