The SC Senate made positive changes to H.3309 but also incorporated the Rate Stabilization Act, a provision to allow utilities to raise customer rates annually without  presenting a case before the Public Service Commission.

It is now up to the House to either accept the Senate version through concurrence or send the bill to a conference committee to resolve the major differences between the two versions.

H.3309 Energy Regulation Bill 

Regulatory systems are a major function of government. H.3309 is a major revision of energy regulation and as such is of great importance for good government — or its failure.

In the House, H.3309 reflected nothing but the wishes of utilities. It has been returned to the House from the Senate in greatly improved form.

The Senate made many positive changes. The bill now: 

• restores regulatory accountability. For example, the bill eliminates the possibility of utilities gaming a 6 month deadline for Public Service Commission rulings to get an automatic approval by submitting incomplete applications.
• requires that the cost of providing energy to power-hog data centers be covered by those data centers, not other ratepayers. It also requires water-hog data centers to report their water usage. The new bill also protecting the mission of the Office of Regulatory staff from a return to the impossible demands of the pre-V.C.Summer requirement that they protect the financial integrity of utilities.
• preserves clean energy competition and eliminates a provision that would have made many smaller solar facilities impractical.
• holds utilities accountable for energy efficiency through programs that require minimum energy savings benchmarks, with consequences for non-compliance.

A major negative change was introduced by the Senate:

• Another bill, the Electric Rate Stabilization Act (referred to as an RSA) was incorporated into H.3309. This would allow utilities to raise customer rates every year without presenting a traditional rate case before the Public Service Commission, reducing public input and regulatory review.