South Carolina Public Service Commission

• Detected May 25, 2026

  Carolee L. WilliamsDeparture

  Carolee L. Williams departed from the South Carolina Public Service Commission.

• Detected May 25, 2026

  Eugene HennellyAppointment

  Eugene Hennelly was appointed to the South Carolina Public Service Commission.

• Detected May 25, 2026

  Headen B. ThomasDeparture

  Headen B. Thomas departed from the South Carolina Public Service Commission.

• Detected May 25, 2026

  Swain WhitfieldAppointment

  Swain Whitfield was appointed to the South Carolina Public Service Commission.

Address

101 Executive Center Drive, Suite 100, Columbia, SC 29210-8411

Phone

(803) 896-5100Fax (803) 896-5246

Website

psc.sc.gov ↗

Utility landscape

• Duke Energy Carolinas / Duke Energy Progress IOU

  Duke Energy Carolinas serves the western Piedmont region; Duke Energy Progress serves the central and eastern portions of the state, including the Midlands and coastal areas

  Duke operates under multi-year rate plans approved by the SCPSC and has been active in seeking recovery for grid hardening and storm restoration costs. The two South Carolina subsidiaries are regulated separately but often file coordinated integrated resource plans reflecting shared capacity resources.

• Dominion Energy South Carolina (formerly SCE&G) IOU

  Central South Carolina including the Columbia metro area, portions of the Lowcountry, and surrounding counties encompassing approximately 1.6 million customers

  Dominion Energy SC remains under significant scrutiny following the V.C. Summer nuclear construction abandonment; the Base Load Review Act was repealed and the SCPSC continues to monitor rate mitigation commitments and capital structure conditions tied to the 2019 Dominion acquisition order. The utility has pursued incremental rate adjustments through fuel cost mechanisms and infrastructure riders.

• Santee Cooper (South Carolina Public Service Authority) muni

  Wholesale power provider to all 20 electric cooperatives in South Carolina via Central Electric Power Cooperative; also serves direct retail customers in Berkeley, Georgetown, and Horry counties

  Santee Cooper is a state-owned utility not directly regulated by the SCPSC for rate setting, but legislative oversight remains intense following the V.C. Summer debacle. The General Assembly periodically revisits reform or sale proposals, and Santee Cooper's integrated resource planning decisions draw close scrutiny from lawmakers and the Office of Regulatory Staff.

• Central Electric Power Cooperative coop

  Statewide wholesale transmission cooperative serving all 20 distribution electric cooperatives across South Carolina

  Central Electric is the wholesale purchaser from Santee Cooper for the state's cooperative network and is governed by its member cooperatives rather than the SCPSC. Its power supply contract renegotiations with Santee Cooper have regulatory downstream implications for retail cooperative rates subject to limited SCPSC oversight.

• Piedmont Natural Gas (Duke Energy subsidiary) IOU

  Natural gas distribution serving the Upstate region, including Greenville, Spartanburg, and Cherokee counties, as well as portions of York and Chester counties

  Piedmont Natural Gas filed a rate case before the SCPSC seeking recovery of infrastructure replacement program costs and pipeline safety investments; the commission has historically allowed accelerated cost recovery mechanisms for eligible cast iron and bare steel pipe replacement.

• Fort Mill (York County) / Greer Commission of Public Works muni

  Municipal electric and water utilities serving fast-growing communities in York County (Fort Mill) and Greenville/Spartanburg counties (Greer CPW)

  Rapidly expanding service territories driven by Upstate and Charlotte-metro growth have pressured both utilities to pursue infrastructure investment rate adjustments; as municipal utilities they file informational rate notices with the SCPSC rather than traditional rate cases but face increasing regulatory attention around capacity planning and reliability standards.

Key issues

• Dominion Energy South Carolina rate case and V.C. Summer cost recovery: Ongoing SCPSC scrutiny of Dominion's capital expenditure requests and rate base determinations remains colored by legislative mandates from Act 258 (2019); any new general rate filing will face heightened review of return on equity, depreciation schedules for stranded nuclear assets, and the adequacy of existing rate mitigation credits flowing to customers.
• Integrated Resource Planning and coal retirement timelines: Both Duke Energy Progress and Dominion Energy SC have filed or are expected to update IRPs reflecting accelerated coal unit retirements at facilities such as Wateree and McMeekin; the SCPSC and Office of Regulatory Staff are actively evaluating resource adequacy impacts, replacement capacity procurement strategies, and stranded cost recovery treatment for retiring fossil assets.
• Grid modernization and advanced metering infrastructure deployment: The SCPSC is evaluating utility proposals for AMI rollout and associated cost recovery riders; proceedings involve contested issues around cybersecurity standards, opt-out policies for residential customers, data privacy protections, and whether smart meter benefits justify rider-based tracking outside general rate cases.
• Renewable energy integration and net metering reform: South Carolina's 2019 Energy Freedom Act created a competitive market for distributed solar and third-party financing; the SCPSC has open dockets addressing successor net metering tariff structures, value-of-solar methodologies, and interconnection queue backlogs as rooftop solar adoption accelerates statewide.
• Santee Cooper governance and long-term power supply restructuring: Legislative debate over Santee Cooper's future ownership structure, reform plan adequacy, and the terms of its power supply agreement with Central Electric Power Cooperative continues to create regulatory uncertainty affecting wholesale rate stability for all 20 member cooperatives and their approximately 2 million retail customers.

Upcoming

• 2026-09-15

  Estimated deadline for updated Integrated Resource Plan filings from Duke Energy Progress and Dominion Energy South Carolina pursuant to SCPSC IRP review dockets; Office of Regulatory Staff technical staff review period anticipated to follow with public comment sessions scheduled through Q4 2026.

• 2026-10-07

  Estimated SCPSC evidentiary hearing commencement for Dominion Energy South Carolina infrastructure and rate adjustment proceeding; intervenor testimony from the Office of Regulatory Staff, AARP South Carolina, and industrial customer groups anticipated to address rate base valuation and customer rate impact mitigation.

• 2026-11-18

  Estimated SCPSC workshop on net metering successor tariff and distributed energy resource compensation methodology pursuant to the Energy Freedom Act framework; proceedings expected to address avoided-cost calculations, export compensation rates, and interconnection standardization for residential and small commercial solar customers.

• 2027-01-13

  Estimated South Carolina General Assembly session opening during which Santee Cooper reform legislation and potential modifications to the Base Load Review Act repeal framework are anticipated to be reintroduced; SCPSC commissioners may be called to testify before House and Senate utility oversight committees regarding pending docket activity and rate impact projections.