CCAGW Urges South Carolina Legislators to Support H. 5118 | Council For Citizens Against Government Waste

CCAGW Urges South Carolina Legislators to Support H. 5118

State Action

February 27, 2024

Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee
Blatt Room 407
1105 Pendleton St.
Columbia, South Carolina 29201

Dear Representative, 

The South Carolina House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee will consider H. 5118, the South Carolina Ten-Year Energy Transformation Act, on February 28, 2024.  On behalf of the 21,216 members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) in South Carolina, I urge you to vote in favor of this legislation, which would streamline the regulatory appeals and approval processes for applications to build new energy transmission infrastructure. 

South Carolina’s strong economic growth has led to growing demand for electricity on the state’s limited and aging transmission infrastructure.  Ensuring reliable power delivery, optimizing power flow, managing demand, and avoiding disruptions require upgrades that will expand throughput and integrate smart grid technologies. 

Under current law, requests to expand transmission lines are subject to a complex, multi-year permit review process.  The resulting delays strain existing lines and lead to overloads, blackouts, brownouts, and equipment damage. 

H. 5118 provides an expedited permit review that would reduce costs and limit the review process from a maximum of four years to six months and shorten the appeals process by providing for direct appeal of Public Service Commission (PSC) decisions to the South Carolina Supreme Court.  Finally, H. 5118 guarantees public participation in the application process by granting electrical utility customers the right to address the PSC as public witnesses and establishes a fixed timeline for testimony and discovery in contested proceedings before the commission, bringing efficiency, predictability, and transparency to the public comment process. 

For these reasons, I again urge you to support H. 5118.

Sincerely, 
Tom Schatz
President, CCAGW

 

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