SC

Government-Run Power Company Has A Rate Hiking Trump Card

SANTEE COOPER DOESN’T PLAY BY THE PRIVATE SECTOR’S RULES … We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again … government shouldn’t be in the electricity business. It’s simply not something taxpayers should subsidize … ever. Unfortunately, in “Republican-controlled” South Carolina everything has become a “core function” of government … which is why…

SANTEE COOPER DOESN’T PLAY BY THE PRIVATE SECTOR’S RULES …

We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again … government shouldn’t be in the electricity business.

It’s simply not something taxpayers should subsidize … ever.

Unfortunately, in “Republican-controlled” South Carolina everything has become a “core function” of government … which is why billion dollar budget increases continue to produce pathetic results.

Anyway, state-owned public utility Santee Cooper – an entity this website has repeatedly called on state leaders to privatize – recently announced another rate hike on its customers beginning on April 1, 2016.  Another rate hike would be imposed on April 1, 2017.

Santee Cooper refused to say how high the rate hikes would be … although the agency’s press release predicted a pair of annual 3.7 percent increases.  But hey … it’s all good because the politicos running the bureaucracy feel the people’s pain.

“I know times continue to be challenging for many of our customers,” said Santee Cooper board chairman Leighton Lord, an appointee of governor Nikki Haley.

Ya think?

Here’s an interesting tidbit, though … while private sector energy providers are required by law to come before government regulatory agencies whenever they want to raise rates (and receive government approval), Santee Cooper isn’t similarly burdened.

Seriously: The agency can raise rates on whomever it wishes … whenever it wishes … by any amount it wishes.  In fact it’s did so in 2011, 2012 and 2013 … even as income levels in the Palmetto State were stagnant.

And it’s getting ready to do so again …

It’s been suggested Santee Cooper should be sold because the proceeds would accrue to the benefit of the state’s general fund – giving lawmakers more money to spend.  Our view?  The utility should be sold because it has no right to exist as a government entity in the first place.

Obviously government should hire cops.  And it should run courts.  And it should build roads and bridges as population needs dictate.  These are “core functions” of government – and they should be performed with maximum efficiency and transparency.

What isn’t a core function?  Running a power company that plays by a different set of rules as the private sector …

***

Related posts

SC

South Carolina Mayor Dead Following Car Crash

Will Folks
SC

Palmetto Past & Present: How Columbia Became the Confederacy’s Currency Capital

Mark Powell
SC

Catherine Templeton: Stopping The Weaponization Of South Carolina’s Judicial System

FITSForum

16 comments

Who Pays More? December 16, 2015 at 1:18 pm

I’d like to know, which charges more for electricity? Santee Cooper, or SCE&G?

Reply
bobbymac December 16, 2015 at 3:21 pm

Santee Cooper is cheaper on the per kilowatt hour but SCE&G has a cheaper baseline (ie. $10 per month for SCE&G and $14 per month for Santee Cooper). Both Santee Cooper and SCE&G are jointly building two new reactors at the Virgil Summer nuclear station and the costs of those reactors are probably the reason for the rate increase.

Reply
Mike at the Beach December 16, 2015 at 11:01 pm

Don’t come on here with facts, new guy. You’ll get pilloried.

Reply
The Donald December 17, 2015 at 6:38 pm

Right, Facts are not noted in any articles only bias that is not accurate, no full detail information. No wonder he is a Trump lover!

Reply
Cognitive Dissonance December 16, 2015 at 1:38 pm

“Obviously government should hire cops. And it should run courts. And it should build roads and bridges as population needs dictate. ”

Yeahhh……and that’s going really well right now, so cheerleading for more of the same will certainly produce different results.

Reply
Democratic Socialism Works. December 16, 2015 at 1:44 pm

Why not go full Libertarian? Everybody’s trying to move to Somalia, right?

Reply
Ancap Defense Force December 16, 2015 at 1:55 pm

They just label the armed groups and warlords “governments” and ignore the ultimate result of a lack of a central government.

Reply
Cognitive Dissonance December 16, 2015 at 1:58 pm

Exactly. It reminds me of the pirate brought before Caeser that argued he did the same thing Caesar did except he didn’t have as big a force or territory to claim, so why should he be charged with a crime that Caesar committed daily on a larger scale?

Reply
Cognitive Dissonance December 16, 2015 at 1:56 pm

Same tired bullshit comment from commies calling themselves “democratic socialists”. Do you all graduate from the same propaganda school? Does it matter than Somalia is not a libertarian society at all or is the talking point just enough?

At the end of the day those sitting in the ivory towers that democratic socialists would elect, would do the very same thing the government does now Dine on lobster, take trips to Hawaii with thier wives “on government business”, & tell you how much of your money you get to keep for the betterment of society.

Reply
sparklecity December 16, 2015 at 4:37 pm

Name me one truly “conservative” country.
From what I understand South Africa was the closest to being a no BS “conservative” country and except for that little “apartite (misspelled) thing would probably still be around today and flourishing – just the place for “utopian” conservatives like yourself to emigrate to…
There’s not a piss pot’s difference between “utopian” conservatives or “utopian” liberals.
Both of them have their heads up their asses so far they will never see the light of day.
Fuck the hard right AND the hard left is what I say………..

Reply
Cognitive Dissonance December 16, 2015 at 6:26 pm

I agree. Until people reject aggression in their interactions it will be more of the same regardless of what label they claim:Left, right, conservative, liberal or in between.

Good ideas don’t require force to be implemented. Voluntary society is the only way to maximize humanity’s standard of living and freedom.

It might take us another 1000 years to get there, but one can hope.

Zero Sum December 16, 2015 at 1:45 pm

It doesn’t matter. If Santee Cooper is sold off it will likely be a sweetheart deal to SCE&G and their monopoly in this state will be increased that much more. It doesn’t matter what we try to do at this point because somehow, someone will find a way to screw us.

Reply
Tazmaniac December 16, 2015 at 2:09 pm

Rate hikes on April 1st is pretty poor optics.

Reply
Mike at the Beach December 16, 2015 at 10:59 pm

I dunno…they could always claim they were only kidding.

Reply
scotty December 16, 2015 at 4:42 pm

The state should have gotten out this business years ago. It was set up at the start of WWII to supply needed power for the war effort and needs to be sold to a private entity.

Reply
Juice Lover December 17, 2015 at 6:34 pm

Private entities hike rates also.

Reply

Leave a Comment