Special about the chronicle
Santee Cooper’s taxpayer-owned debt is expected to increase by more than half a billion dollars.
The reason is a proposal that a legislative committee is likely to approve.
The utility’s board of directors agreed to request the state’s Joint Bond Review Committee (JBRC) to authorize the utility to sell bonds worth up to $ 350 million.
We revealed that the utility approved millions in economic development spending while stuck in $ 12.38 billion in debt.
The debt would grow to $ 12.91 billion by 2056, with additional proposed payments of $ 535.5 million.
This includes $ 289 million in principal and an estimated $ 246.5 million in interest over 30 years.
Santee Cooper’s customers would see a “moderate (less than inflation)” rate by 2027, according to the utility’s records.
Santee Cooper spokeswoman Mollie Gore said interest rates would be frozen until 2024 as part of a court settlement over the failed $ 10 billion nuclear project that Santee Cooper was a partner on.
Legislators considered selling Santee Cooper after the nuclear debacle.
The utility provides electricity to approximately 2 million South Carolina residents, including the owners of the Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative in Lexington County.
The law passed in June obliges the JBRC to approve, reject or amend any bond proposals.
Gore didn’t immediately respond when asked if the Santee Cooper Advisory Board – made up of the governor, attorney general, auditor, treasurer, and secretary of state – approved the loan.
Under state law, the advisory board must “consult and advise” the utility company’s 12-person board “on all matters to which it relates.”
The advisory board has not met once to discuss the now abandoned nuclear project.
According to Santee Cooper’s loan proposal, approximately $ 192 million would be used to pay off short-term debts related to solid waste landfills, ash basins and transfer projects.
Approximately $ 151 million would be earmarked for new investments.
Brundrett is the news editor for The Nerve (www.thenerve.org). Contact him at 803-254-4411 or [email protected].
Brundrett is the news editor for The Nerve (www.thenerve.org). Contact him at 803-254-4411 or [email protected].
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