Stop H.5118! Urgent Feb. 27 Energy Advocacy Day

Stop H.5118! Urgent Feb. 27 Energy Advocacy Day

Time Range For Action Alert: 
Feb 24 2024 to Feb 28 2024

your voice matters

Legislators are pushing sweeping new legislation that will eliminate hard won consumer protections in favor of public utilities.
 
The League of Women Voters of South Carolina worked intensively to help develop the current sound regulatory process following the disastrous V. C. Summer project collapse. It was widely understood that the Base Load Review Act (BLRA) was grounded in too much confidence in the good will of corporate utilities, a classic case of regulatory capture that led to very serious abuses. H.5118 follows in that tradition of regulatory capture, depending on utilities giving adequate attention to the interests of the public rather than focusing on their shareholders and their own interests.
 

The asks

There are two ways to get involved. 
  1.  Email your legislators with written testimony before February 27! Tell them to vote “no” on this dangerous bill. 
  2. Able to join us in Columbia? Testify in person! Join CVSC, partner organizations, and community members outside the State House on Tuesday, February 27, to show opposition to the bill. Meet at the State House steps at 1 pm. Public hearing to begin ~2 pm (Blatt Building Room 403)

Talking points

  • A robust regulatory process is essential to ensure that the public benefits and does not suffer from decisions that are made, with reasonable and fair balance of shareholder interests. 
  • H.5118 makes the following changes that would eliminate our protections:
    • Removes the Consumer Advocate, a state entity created to protect ratepayers from ballooning electric bills, as a participant in PSC proceedings 
    • Limits what topics customers can address in public hearings
    • Directs the Public Service Commission (PSC) to defer to utility judgment over the public and other parties
    • Adds restrictive deadlines to PSC decision-making, rushing the public hearing process
    • Allows utilities to proceed with the construction of certain facilities even before obtaining permission from the PSC
 

More information

Our conservation group partners make the following additional points: 

  • The Conservation Voters of South Carolina (CVSC) is urging action on this new bill that calls for a huge new gas plant on the banks of the Edisto River in Colleton County. The proposed gas plant with an unknown billion-dollar price tag will give utilities a blank check to pollute our environment and make ratepayers foot the bill. 
  • Miles of pipelines will be needed to transport fuel to the plant, causing damage to private property and environmentally sensitive areas along the route.
  • The bill weakens consumer protections, and adds extra consideration for utilities’ bottom lines while adding nothing to protect ratepayers.
  • Ask lawmakers to stop utilities before they spend billions on another risky, expensive gas megaproject. This bill will have widespread negative impacts on our environment, communities, ratepayer bills, and more.
Issues referenced by this action alert: 
Energy