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SCEandG Files Application with Public Service Commission of South Carolina Detailing Plans for New Nuclear Units

SCANA to Discuss Filing in June 9 Webcast

COLUMBIA, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G), principal subsidiary of SCANA Corporation (NYSE: SCG), today filed a combined application for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility, Public Convenience and Necessity, and for a Base Load Review Order, with the South Carolina Public Service Commission (PSC) and the South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff. The application was filed under provisions of the Base Load Review Act (BLRA), a state law enacted in 2007 to add structure and consistency to the process SCE&G and other regulated utilities must follow when building nuclear power plants. SCE&G also filed a petition requesting permission to begin initial clearing, excavation and construction work on the site pending approval of the BLRA application.

SCE&G and Santee Cooper, a state-owned electric and water utility in South Carolina, announced Tuesday that they had entered into a contractual agreement with Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC, and a subsidiary of The Shaw Group Inc., Stone & Webster, Inc., for the design and construction of two 1,117-megawatt nuclear electric-generating units at the site of the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station, near Jenkinsville, S.C. SCE&G and Santee Cooper are joint owners and share operating costs and generating output of the existing 966-megawatt V.C. Summer plant. SCE&G is the plant operator. A similar arrangement will apply to the two additional units, with SCE&G accounting for 55 percent of the cost and output and Santee Cooper the remaining 45 percent. The companies submitted an application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) March 31 for a combined construction and operating license. Following an approximate three-to-four-year review process, the NRC could issue the combined license in 2011. The first unit is expected to come on line in 2016, the second in 2019. SCE&G and Santee Cooper estimate that base load generation will be needed for both utilities at those times.

The BLRA application filed today documents SCE&G’s need for new electric generation and provides information that will allow state regulators to determine, up front, the prudency of the company’s plans to construct the two new nuclear units to meet that need. Along with outlining projected costs and construction schedules, the application includes a schedule of forecasted adjustments SCE&G would make to customer rates based on nuclear construction expenditures.

“The Base Load Review Act allows for annual adjustments to rates during construction of the units as a means of recovering financing costs associated with the project,” said SCE&G President Kevin Marsh. “Paying financing costs while construction is ongoing, as opposed to waiting until the project has been completed, will lower the cost of the new units by about $1 billion. We estimate this reduction will save our customers approximately $4 billion in electric rates over the life of the new units.”

A public hearing will be conducted during which the PSC will hear testimony related to the application. The Commission is required to issue an order within nine months of the filing. If approved by the Commission, rates would be adjusted each year based on construction expenditures made since the last increase. Year-by-year adjustments to rates under BLRA are estimated below (actual amount and timing of adjustments may vary):

Month/Year % change
Mar 2009 0.49
Oct 2009 2.8
Oct 2010 2.8
Oct 2011 3.8
Oct 2012 3.5
Oct 2013 4.0
Oct 2014 3.7
Oct 2015 2.8
Apr 2016 1.4
Feb 2017 2.2
Feb 2018 3.1
Jan 2019 1.1

SCANA to discuss BLRA filing in Webcast

SCANA will Webcast a conference call with security analysts June 9 at 4 p.m. to discuss the filing. All interested persons, including investors, media and the general public, may listen to a live Webcast of the conference call at the SCANA’s Web site, www.scana.com. Participants should go to the Web site at least five to 10 minutes prior to the call start time and follow the instructions. A replay of the Webcast will also be available on the site approximately two hours after conclusion of the call.

PROFILES

South Carolina Electric & Gas Company is a regulated public utility engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity to approximately 643,000 customers in 26 counties in the central, southern and southwestern portions of South Carolina. The company also provides natural gas service to approximately 305,000 customers in 34 counties in the state.

SCANA Corporation, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Columbia, SC, is an energy-based holding company principally engaged, through subsidiaries, in electric and natural gas utility operations and other energy-related businesses. Information about SCANA and its businesses is available on the Company’s web site at www.scana.com.