South Carolina Law > Code of Laws > Title 58

SECTION 58-43-10.Definitions.

Unless otherwise specified, for purposes of this chapter:

(1) "Commission" means the Public Service Commission.

(2) "Contract" has the same meaning as the term is used in Section 58-27-980.

(3) "Electrical utility" has the same meaning as provided in Section 58-27-10(7).

(4) "Marginal cost" means the electrical utility's marginal cost for producing energy.

(5) "Qualifying customer" means either:

(a) an existing commercial or industrial customer with a combined firm and interruptible contract demand greater than 20 megawatts that agrees to a new or extended electric service contract with a term of five years or more; or

(b) a commercial or industrial customer that agrees to locate its operations in South Carolina or expand its existing establishment, and such location or expansion results in the minimum of:

(i) 500 kilowatts at one point of delivery;

(ii) fifty new employees; and

(iii) capital investment of $400,000 following the electrical utility's approval for service.

(6) "Rate proposal" means a written document that identifies the rates, terms, and conditions for electric service offered by an electrical utility to a prospective customer.

(7) "Renewable energy facility" means a solar array or other facility constructed by or on behalf of a qualifying customer for the exclusive purpose of supplementing electrical power generation from a renewable energy source for its economic development location, expansion, or retention.

(8) "Transformational customer" means a commercial or industrial customer that agrees to locate its operations in South Carolina or expand its existing establishment, and such location or expansion results in the addition of a minimum of:

(a) 50 megawatts at one point of delivery;

(b) 500 new employees;

(c) capital investment of $100,000,000 following the electrical utility's approval for service; and

(d) who is designated by the South Carolina Department of Commerce as a business which will bring substantial benefit to the economy of South Carolina and its citizens, such that it is in the public interest to have such transformational customer located in this State.

HISTORY: 2025 Act No. 41 (H.3309), SECTION 36.B, eff May 12, 2025.

Editor's Note

2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 1, provides as follows:

"SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the 'South Carolina Energy Security Act.' "

2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 33, provides as follows:

"SECTION 33. (A) To foster economic development and future jobs in this State resulting from the supply chains associated with the same while supporting the significant and growing energy and capacity needs of the State, enhance grid resiliency, and maintain reliability, the General Assembly finds that the State of South Carolina should take steps necessary to encourage the development of a diverse mix of long-lead, clean generation resources that may include nuclear and advanced nuclear, biomass as defined in Section 12-63-20(B)(2) of the S.C. Code, hydrogen-capable resources, fusion energy, and other technologies, and should preserve the option of efficiency development of such long-lead resources with timely actions to establish or maintain eligibility for or capture available tax or other financial incentives or address operational needs.

"(B) For an electrical utility to capture available tax or other financial or operational incentives for South Carolina ratepayers in a timely manner, the commission may find that actions by an electrical utility in pursuit of the directives in Section 58-37-35(A) are in the public interest, provided that the commission determines that such proposed actions are in the public interest and reasonably balance economic development and industry retention benefits, capacity expansion benefits, resource adequacy and diversification and potential risks, costs, and benefits to ratepayers and otherwise comply with all other legal requirements applicable to the electrical utility's proposed action. For the South Carolina Public Service Authority, the Office of Regulatory Staff and the Public Service Authority's board of directors shall apply the same principles described in this subsection in evaluating and approving actions proposed by the management of the Public Service Authority to achieve the objectives of this section."

2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 36.A, provides as follows:

"SECTION 36.A. The General Assembly hereby finds and declares that:

"(1) the economic and financial well-being of South Carolina and its citizens depends upon continued economic development and industry retention and opportunities for job attraction and retention; and

"(2) the cost of electricity and the availability of clean energy sources for electricity are important factors in the decision for a commercial and industrial entity to locate, expand, or maintain their existing establishments in South Carolina; and

"(3) competitive electric rates, terms, and conditions and the ability to utilize clean energy sources for electric power generation are necessary to attract prospective commercial or industrial entities to invest in South Carolina and to encourage and incent robust economic development growth and industry retention in this State; and

"(4) electrical utilities are critical economic development and industry retention partners for South Carolina by offering affordable power that has helped to attract jobs and associated development."

2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 41, provides as follows:

"SECTION 41. (A) Five years after the effective date of this act, the Office of the Regulatory Staff shall prepare a report, to be filed with the Public Utilities Review Committee and the General Assembly, to address the implementation of Article 24, Chapter 27, Title 58 as it relates to the following areas:

"(1) assessing the functioning of the procedures established by section with recommendation for any changes required to ensure their efficient functioning, to promote regulatory efficiency, and to make further the establishment of just, reasonable, and fair rates;

"(2) assessing the effect of rates on ratepayers of all classes;

"(3) assessing the reliability of the electric system and whether investments made by electric utilities increased reliability compared to any change in electric utility rates experienced by ratepayers within the same timeframe; and

"(4) any other information requested by the General Assembly to be included within the report.

"(B) The Office of Regulatory Staff may engage a qualified, independent third party to assist in preparation of the report.

"(C) All expenses and charges incurred by the Office of Regulatory Staff in the performance of its duties within this section may be defrayed by assessments made by the Comptroller General against the regulated electrical utilities regulated and based upon twenty-five percent of the gross revenues collected by such electrical utilities from their business done wholly within this State in the manner set out in Section 58-4-60 for other corporations."

2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 42, provides as follows:

"SECTION 42. Upon passage of this act, Dominion Energy shall evaluate the process for converting the Wateree Generating Station from coal-fired generation to biomass-fired generation. Biomass-fired generation includes, but is not limited to, generation from the firing of wood pellets and wood chips. Dominion Energy must make a report concerning the conversion process to the Public Service Commission and General Assembly by no later than January 13, 2026."

SECTION 58-43-20.Reasonable rates.

(A) When considering whether the rates, terms, and conditions negotiated with economic development prospects are just and reasonable, the commission shall give full weight and consideration to the economic development benefits to the electrical utility's customers that result from prospective commercial or industrial entities locating or expanding their activities in South Carolina.

(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an electrical utility may provide the South Carolina Department of Commerce or a prospective qualifying customer or transformational customer with a rate proposal containing terms and conditions to incentivize the prospective customer to make capital investments and employ additional workforce in the electrical utility's service territory. The rate proposal initially provided by an electrical utility may differ from the final contract, rate, terms, and conditions with the qualifying customer or transformational customer.

(C) An electrical utility may offer special rates, terms, and conditions to a qualifying customer or transformational customer, including rates that are lower than the rates the customer otherwise would be charged. The agreement with the customer must be for a term not exceeding ten years and the electrical utility may offer the customer interruptible and real-time pricing options and riders for other clean energy attributes which may support the qualifying customer's or transformational customer's needs. However, rates for qualifying customers may not be lower than the electrical utility's marginal cost of providing service to the customer and rates for transformational customers may not be lower than twenty-five percent less than the electrical utility's marginal cost of providing service to the customer.

(D) Rates, terms, and conditions negotiated with qualifying and transformational customers shall be deemed just and reasonable if:

(1) for qualifying customers, the terms of this section are met;

(2) for transformational customers, the commission determines that:

(a) the economic development rate offered significantly impacts the customer's decision to locate or expand in South Carolina;

(b) the financial value realized by the electrical utility's system from the transformational customer being on the electrical utility's system for ten years is greater than or equal to the financial value of the rate incentive given to the transformational customer;

(c) measures have been taken to avoid or reduce cross-customer class-subsidization; and

(d) the consequences of offering the economic development rate are beneficial to the system as a whole considering all customer classes.

The commission must either approve or deny an application pursuant to this section within sixty days.

(E) Nothing in this chapter shall otherwise restrict the commission's authority to regulate rates and charges or review contracts entered into pursuant to this section or to otherwise supervise the operations of electrical utilities.

(F) The construction of a proposed renewable energy facility by or on behalf of a qualifying customer to support electric power generation at its location must comply with federal, state, and local laws and ordinances.

(G) Consistent with federal, state, and local laws and ordinances, the electrical utility may expedite interconnection of a proposed renewable energy facility to be constructed by a qualifying or transformational customer to support electrical power generation at its location where high-quality and reliable electric service are not adversely impacted.

(H) In the event a qualifying customer or transformational customer leaves this State or terminates its operations in this State during the ten-year contract period, such customer must reimburse the electrical utility and its customers the difference between standard rates and the rates paid during the term of the agreement between the electrical utility and its customers.

(I) An electrical utility shall not be required to adjust its cost of service in a rate proceeding as a result of a rate, agreement, or infrastructure provided pursuant to this section in any matter that would impute revenue at a level higher than received by the electrical utility from a qualifying customer or transformational customer or would otherwise reduce the electrical utility's revenue as a result of entering into contracts with qualifying customers or transformational customers pursuant to this section.

(J) If an electrical utility offers special rates, terms, and conditions to a qualifying customer or a transformational customer, any electrical utility in South Carolina may also offer all directly competing existing customers in its service territory in this State with similar special rates, terms, and conditions at the time the agreement is entered into with the qualifying customer or transformational customer to the extent the directly competing existing customer is able to substantiate its status as a directly competing existing customer. For purposes of this section, customers are "directly competing" if they make the same end-product, or offer the same service, for the same general group of customers. Customers that only produce component parts of the same end-product are not directly competing customers.

HISTORY: 2025 Act No. 41 (H.3309), SECTION 36.B, eff May 12, 2025.

Editor's Note

2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 1, provides as follows:

"SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the 'South Carolina Energy Security Act.' "

2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 33, provides as follows:

"SECTION 33. (A) To foster economic development and future jobs in this State resulting from the supply chains associated with the same while supporting the significant and growing energy and capacity needs of the State, enhance grid resiliency, and maintain reliability, the General Assembly finds that the State of South Carolina should take steps necessary to encourage the development of a diverse mix of long-lead, clean generation resources that may include nuclear and advanced nuclear, biomass as defined in Section 12-63-20(B)(2) of the S.C. Code, hydrogen-capable resources, fusion energy, and other technologies, and should preserve the option of efficiency development of such long-lead resources with timely actions to establish or maintain eligibility for or capture available tax or other financial incentives or address operational needs.

"(B) For an electrical utility to capture available tax or other financial or operational incentives for South Carolina ratepayers in a timely manner, the commission may find that actions by an electrical utility in pursuit of the directives in Section 58-37-35(A) are in the public interest, provided that the commission determines that such proposed actions are in the public interest and reasonably balance economic development and industry retention benefits, capacity expansion benefits, resource adequacy and diversification and potential risks, costs, and benefits to ratepayers and otherwise comply with all other legal requirements applicable to the electrical utility's proposed action. For the South Carolina Public Service Authority, the Office of Regulatory Staff and the Public Service Authority's board of directors shall apply the same principles described in this subsection in evaluating and approving actions proposed by the management of the Public Service Authority to achieve the objectives of this section."

2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 36.A, provides as follows:

"SECTION 36.A. The General Assembly hereby finds and declares that:

"(1) the economic and financial well-being of South Carolina and its citizens depends upon continued economic development and industry retention and opportunities for job attraction and retention; and

"(2) the cost of electricity and the availability of clean energy sources for electricity are important factors in the decision for a commercial and industrial entity to locate, expand, or maintain their existing establishments in South Carolina; and

"(3) competitive electric rates, terms, and conditions and the ability to utilize clean energy sources for electric power generation are necessary to attract prospective commercial or industrial entities to invest in South Carolina and to encourage and incent robust economic development growth and industry retention in this State; and

"(4) electrical utilities are critical economic development and industry retention partners for South Carolina by offering affordable power that has helped to attract jobs and associated development."

2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 41, provides as follows:

"SECTION 41. (A) Five years after the effective date of this act, the Office of the Regulatory Staff shall prepare a report, to be filed with the Public Utilities Review Committee and the General Assembly, to address the implementation of Article 24, Chapter 27, Title 58 as it relates to the following areas:

"(1) assessing the functioning of the procedures established by section with recommendation for any changes required to ensure their efficient functioning, to promote regulatory efficiency, and to make further the establishment of just, reasonable, and fair rates;

"(2) assessing the effect of rates on ratepayers of all classes;

"(3) assessing the reliability of the electric system and whether investments made by electric utilities increased reliability compared to any change in electric utility rates experienced by ratepayers within the same timeframe; and

"(4) any other information requested by the General Assembly to be included within the report.

"(B) The Office of Regulatory Staff may engage a qualified, independent third party to assist in preparation of the report.

"(C) All expenses and charges incurred by the Office of Regulatory Staff in the performance of its duties within this section may be defrayed by assessments made by the Comptroller General against the regulated electrical utilities regulated and based upon twenty-five percent of the gross revenues collected by such electrical utilities from their business done wholly within this State in the manner set out in Section 58-4-60 for other corporations."

2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 42, provides as follows:

"SECTION 42. Upon passage of this act, Dominion Energy shall evaluate the process for converting the Wateree Generating Station from coal-fired generation to biomass-fired generation. Biomass-fired generation includes, but is not limited to, generation from the firing of wood pellets and wood chips. Dominion Energy must make a report concerning the conversion process to the Public Service Commission and General Assembly by no later than January 13, 2026."