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COLUMBIA, S.C. - Mar 28
Santee Cooper says South Carolina could face major blackouts in a decade unless the state-owned utility builds additional power plants. If at least one of the new power plants don't come online by 2015, the utility could face a power deficit equivalent to leaving 309,000 houses in the dark because the state is growing so fast, Santee Cooper spokeswoman Laura Varn said. The utility said its projections are conservative. The power deficit could be even bigger if more industry moves into Santee Cooper's service area. The Moncks Corner-based utility directly supplies power to 150,000 South Carolina households and businesses, and supplies power to 665,000 customers indirectly through power cooperatives. If customer demands exceeds the utility's capacity, it has to buy electricity from other utilities. During a huge power deficit, that would be too expensive, Santee Cooper President Lonnie Carter said. Santee Cooper is building two new plants in Berkeley County that should open in 2009, Varn said. The utility said it wants to get the new coal-fired plant running by 2014 and would like to complete one reactor at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station by 2016, with another reactor coming online in 2019. South Carolina Electric & Gas owns the nuclear power plant. Spokesman Robert Yanity said SCE&G is working with Santee Cooper to get the licenses for the new reactors, but might only help build one of them. Santee Cooper owns a one-third stake in the V.C. Summer nuclear facility. The company wants a 45 percent stake in any new reactors, and is pushing for a law that would let other utilities besides SCE&G share some of the remaining stake, Varn said. Santee Cooper's announcing its plans now makes sense because it can takes years to plan and build new power plants, said financial analyst Hiran Cantu, a senior director of New York-based Fitch Ratings. "It's a strategy that has worked for them in the past," Cantu said. ___ Information from: The State, http://www.thestate.com |