Attorney General Wilson joins lawmakers asking court to allow SCE&G rate cut to continue

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) -  August 16, 2018 - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has filed a brief in support of the state legislature’s effort to bring relief to SCE&G ratepayers and to hold SCE&G accountable for its spending on the V.C. Summer nuclear plant. SCE&G has appealed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

U.S. District Court Judge Michelle Childs ruled recently that a law passed by the legislature to temporarily cut SCE&G’s rates by 15 percent should be allowed to take effect. That rate cut is now in effect.  SCE&G is asking the Court of Appeals to stay Judge Childs’ ruling while the appeal is ongoing. The Attorney General’s Office also filed a 40-page brief before Judge Childs before her ruling.

The brief, written by state Solicitor General Bob Cook, says “The Legislature expressly determined it to be in the ‘public interest’ to reduce rates temporarily.” The brief also points out that the District Court ruled twice that SCE&G is not likely to win its case and twice rejected the company’s attempt to block the rate cut. Therefore, SCE&G’s request that the Court of Appeals block the rate reduction should be denied, allowing the rate cut to continue while the appeal is moving through the court system.

You can read the Attorney General’s brief here.