Two South Carolina utilities are selling their share of a $2.2 billion, five-year settlement over a failed nuclear project so that they can recover 92 percent of the cash immediately. Gov. Henry McMaster said he’s still pushing to revive the abandoned reactors — and if he can’t, he wants consumers to get their money back. The utilities have repeatedly said they have no plans to reimburse customers the $2 billion they’ve already been forced to pay for the nuclear energy that never came, nor do they plan to drop the nuclear surcharges imposed since 2009. Instead, they say, the money should prevent more rate hikes, in the near future at least. The partners signed the settlement with Toshiba in July, days before bailing on the two partly built reactors at V.C. Summer Nuclear Station north of Columbia. Toshiba is the parent company of the lead contractor, Westinghouse, which declared bankruptcy in March, voiding a renegotiated, fixed-price contract meant to control the utilities’ escalating costs.
Virginia Pilot 27th Sept 2017 read more »
World Nuclear News 28th Sept 2017 read more »
