GLP-1/GIP weight loss in Santee, SC

South Carolina’s state-owned utility company announced a key deadline for the potential $2.7 billion sale of a pair of partially built nuclear reactors in the Palmetto State.

Santee Cooper will know by the end of March 2028 whether the deal to revive the state’s failed nuclear expansion will officially go through, according to the June 26 announcement.

That’s the deadline for New York investment firm Brookfield Asset Management to give a final decision on whether to purchase two partially built nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer nuclear plant in Fairfield County.

That means the payment, which Santee Cooper plans to use to remove reactor-related debt from customers’ power bills, could be at least 21 months away. That’s if Brookfield ultimately signs off.

Under the negotiated terms, Santee Cooper will maintain an ownership interest in the reactors of up to 25%. This would give customers access to the power the reactors would produce if completed.

Leaders of South Carolina’s electric cooperatives, which make up Santee Cooper’s largest customer base, say they’re remaining “cautiously optimistic.”

“We want to make sure that the risk is truly protected as Santee Cooper and Brookfield pursue this endeavor,” said Cole Price, executive vice president of member services at Central Electric Power Cooperative. “Everything that we see in here would suggest that the risk is being handled appropriately.

“The due diligence, the site visits, and really the amount of effort that’s being put into it, seems like they’re doing everything that critics might argue should have been done the first time,” Price said.

Santee Cooper and the now defunct South Carolina Electric & Gas started construction on the two first-of-their-kind nuclear reactors alongside an existing unit near rural Jenkinsville in early 2013. But the project was riddled with delays, cost overruns and fraud that led to multiple federal convictions of former executives.

The utilities abandoned the plant’s expansion in summer 2017, but not before jointly spending $9 billion on the reactors that never produced a single megawatt.

Santee Cooper’s share of the debt was $3.6 billion, which customers so far continue to pay for on their monthly bills. The cooperative customers’ cover about 70% of the cost, Price said.

The Brookfield deal could erase all but $1 billion of that. And Santee Cooper customers won’t bear any further construction costs beyond what they’ve already paid.

“That comes off co-op members’ bills, Santee Cooper’s members’ bills right away, as soon as that payment’s made,” Price said.

But a lot of work remains between now and then that could easily sideline the deal.

The project must still go through feasibility, engineering and other due diligence studies, as well as the federal regulatory process to license the reactors. And they need to find a company willing to operate the reactors should they get built.

“There’s a lot involved in here,” Mike Finissi, Santee Cooper’s chief operations officer told the utility’s governing board members at their June 26 meeting.

Brookfield also plans to apply for loans from the federal government to help finance the project.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Energy announced last month it would finance a portion of up to five large-scale nuclear projects at $3.5 billion each.

The $17.5 billion in so-called American Nuclear Supply Chain Loans aims to incentivize the development of new nuclear reactors in the country by making it easier to obtain hard to get parts.

Under the terms of the loan, Westinghouse, a subsidiary of Brookfield and the designer of the reactors, would have to chip in $500 million, as would the qualifying energy company that applies.

It is unclear whether the V.C. Summer expansion would qualify or if Brookfield plans to seek financing under a different Energy Department loan program.

Brookfield plans to file loan applications at the end of this year and at the end of April 2027.

An initial cost estimate for the project is expected at the end of next year, Finissi said.

Even if everything goes according to plan, Price said, “it’s going to still be a minute before those units come online and they’re producing power.”

“There’s still a long road ahead,” he said. “Let’s be realistic and have managed expectations about what that means.”

Still, Price said, if Brookfield can manage to turn the 2017 fiasco into a benefit for the state: “That’s a big win if the risk is handled correctly.”

Santee Cooper wants a role in the proposed megamerger between Dominion Energy and NextEra, saying the new owner’s cooperation will be critical to completing major energy projects including the unfinished V.C. Summer nuclear reactors and a $5 billion Colleton County natural gas plant.

The state-owned utility asked Aug. 26 to participate in the merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra. It has not taken a position on their combining, according to a filing.

Dominion and Santee Cooper have a “significant and long-term relationship,” the state utility argued in its petition to intervene. If NextEra were to acquire Dominion, its support of large infrastructure projects will be essential, Santee Cooper’s attorneys wrote in filings.

For example, cooperation between Santee Cooper and Dominion Energy “will be critical” to complete construction of the previously abandoned V.C. Summer nuclear units. The two nuclear reactors in Fairfield County are on track to be operational after Santee Cooper chose Brookfield Asset Management to finish the project late last year.

“The ultimate owner of DESC and that owner’s commitment to cooperate in making the Project [finishing V.C. Summer units] a success matter to Santee Cooper and the State of South Carolina,” Santee Cooper’s attorneys wrote in a petition.

Santee Cooper and Dominion are also working together to build a large $5 billion, 2,200 megawatt natural gas plant in Colleton County. The two utilities were authorized to construct the power station together in 2025 by the General Assembly, and the project was approved by the Public Service Commission in May.

“As the future operator of the Canadys Joint Resource and the lead on those construction activities associated with this facility, the ultimate owner of DESC matters, as does NextEra’s commitment to bring the Canadys Joint Resource online on time and on budget for the people of South Carolina,” Santee Cooper wrote.

In late August, NextEra and Dominion asked the federal Nuclear Regulator Commission to approve the transfer of licenses for the completed V.C. Summer nuclear reactor, if the merger is complete.

The two utilities also work together on other resource planning, Santee Cooper wrote.

While Santee Cooper would deal with a new company, Dominion leadership would stay the same in South Carolina, according to the companies’ filings with the Public Service Commission.

Santee Cooper’s request to intervene is still pending, according to the docket. Eight other individuals or organizations have intervened in the merger, including legislative leaders, environmental groups and the Office of Regulatory Staff, a state utility watchdog. Six others, including Santee Cooper, requested to intervene.

The proposed merger would create a huge utility, servicing 10 million customers across Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. It’s intended to help NextEra and Dominion keep up with skyrocketing energy demand, according to filings. The state Public Service Commission is expected to make a final decision on the deal by January 2027.