SCE&G officials argue rate rollback by lawmakers should be struck down

(WIS) - Almost one year after construction stopped on the failed VC Summer nuclear reactors, SCANA & SCE&G are in court battling against a rate cut passed by the legislature to help you save money.

There are concerns that what comes out of these hearings could affect any future attempts to put money back in customers' pockets.

Earlier this year when a rate cut was in the works, Dominion Energy, who is looking to merge with SCE&G, offered concern that the bill could threaten any permanent solutions offered by Dominion to fix what you are paying.

Right now, Dominion is seeking to give one-time refunds to ratepayers this fall, averaging at $1,000.

However, that's a temporary measure to give back to customers for covering the costs of the VC Summer reactors, and something that could be up in the air if the merger does not go through.

That will be determined in court Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, SCE&G called several witnesses to the stand and they are expected to call a few more on Tuesday. Officials with the utility company also said the legislature's decision to roll back SCE&G's rate by 15 percent could squash the company's profitability.  Therefore, SCE&G is requesting the rollback be struck down as unconstitutional.

Dominion said earlier this year that the law  "would put a standalone SCE&G in a precarious financial position." If Dominion takes over, reports state under their proposal that you would still be paying for the failed project for at least the next 20 years.

If the deal falls apart and Dominion exits the equation, under SCANA and SCE&G, it'd be at least 50 years.

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