(A) Any utility proposing to construct a plant, individually or jointly with other parties, may elect to come under the terms of this article by filing an application or combined application with the commission, and by serving a copy of that application or combined application on the Office of Regulatory Staff.

(B) If the plant is to be located in South Carolina and no application for a certificate under the Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act has previously been granted or is then pending, the utility shall file a combined application under this article.

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 58-33-230

  • application: means an application for a base load review order under the terms of this article. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
  • certificate: means a certificate of environmental compatibility and public convenience and necessity. See South Carolina Code 58-33-20
  • Combined application: means a base load review application which is combined with an application for a certificate under the Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act, or which involves a plant located outside of the State of South Carolina, and at the utility's option may be combined with an application for new electric rates under § 58-27-860. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
  • commission: means Public Service Commission. See South Carolina Code 58-33-20
  • General rate proceeding: means a proceeding under § 58-27-810 and other applicable provisions for the establishment of new electric rates and charges, and where orders in general rate proceedings are referenced in this article, these orders include rate orders issued in proceedings or combined proceedings under this article. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
  • plant: means a new coal or nuclear fueled electrical generating unit or units or facility that is designed to be operated at a capacity factor exceeding seventy percent annually, has a gross initial generation capacity of three hundred fifty megawatts or more, and is intended in whole or in part to serve retail customers of a utility in South Carolina, and for a coal plant, includes Best Available Control Technology, as defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, for the control of air emissions. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
  • regulatory staff: means the executive director or the executive director and the employees of the Office of Regulatory Staff. See South Carolina Code 58-33-20
  • Utility: means a person owning or operating equipment or facilities for generating, transmitting, or delivering electricity to South Carolina retail customers for compensation but it shall not include electric cooperatives, municipalities, the South Carolina Public Service Authority, or a person furnishing electricity only to himself, itself, its residents, employees, or tenants when the electricity is not resold or used by others. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
  • Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act: means § 58-33-10 and other applicable provisions of this chapter. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220

(C) If the plant is to be located outside South Carolina but will serve retail customers in this State, the utility shall file a combined application, but as to the Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act, the combined application shall address only the requirements of § 58-33-160(1)(a), (d), and (f), and information pertaining to the environmental impacts of the plant may not be included in the combined application. In issuing the resulting order as to the Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act, the commission shall make the determinations required under § 58-33-160(1)(a), (d) and (f) only.

(D) For plants located outside South Carolina that will serve retail customers in this State, the issuance of a certificate for the plant by the host state after a review of issues comparable to those considered under § 58-33-160(1)(a), (d) and (f) of the Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act shall create a rebuttable presumption that the requirements of those sections are satisfied.

(E) An application or combined application may be combined with a general rate proceeding application at the utility’s option.

(F) The Office of Regulatory Staff shall safeguard the public interest in all matters arising under this article. It shall have full audit rights related to all matters arising under this article and shall review the reasonableness and necessity of all costs to be recovered under this article.

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