(A) The commission shall issue its order ruling upon a petition for review of a revised rates order within six months. If the petition for review has been resolved among the parties by settlement agreement, the commission shall consider and accept or reject any settlement agreement entered into by the parties within forty-five days. If a settlement agreement is reached between some but not all parties, then the settlement agreement, if approved by the commission, must be deemed to dispose of any issues resolved in it that have not been raised by other parties to the proceeding pursuant to § 58-33-285(C).

(B) Proceedings pursuant to § 58-33-285 are limited to issues related to whether the revised rates filed by the utility comply with the terms of the commission order issued pursuant to § 58-33-270 and with the specific requirements of § 58-33-280. Matters determined in orders issued pursuant to the Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act, § 58-27-810, and other applicable provisions or § 58-33-270 are not subject to review in proceedings under this section.

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 58-33-287

  • AFUDC: means the allowance for funds used during construction of a plant calculated according to regulatory accounting principles. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • application: means an application for a base load review order under the terms of this article. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
  • commission: means Public Service Commission. See South Carolina Code 58-33-20
  • cost of capital: means the utility's average cost of debt and equity capital:

    (a) incorporating the return on equity;

    (b) incorporating the utility's current weighted average cost of debt;

    (c) weighting (a) and (b) according to the utility's capital structure for ratemaking purposes, as established in the order in the utility's last general rate proceeding, updated to reflect the utility's current levels of debt and equity capital; and

    (d) adjusting the result for the effect of income taxes. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
  • Proceeding: means the proceeding to consider an application filed under this chapter. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
  • Revised rates: means a revised schedule of electric rates and charges reflecting a change to the utility's then current nonfuel rates and charges to add incremental revenue requirements related to a base load plant as authorized in this article. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
  • Revised rates order: means an order issued by the commission approving, modifying, or denying the utility's request to charge revised rates under this article, which revised rates order an aggrieved party may contest in an adversarial hearing before the commission. See South Carolina Code 58-33-220
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • 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
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.

(C) In proceedings pursuant to § 58-33-285, the commission shall allow limited discovery, and restrict the issues for discovery and hearing to whether the revised rates comply with the terms of the commission order issued pursuant to § 58-33-270 and compliance with the specific requirements of § 58-33-280.

(D) The commission shall issue such motions to strike, protective orders, motions to quash, motions for costs and sanctions, and other rulings as are necessary to enforce the terms of this limitation.

(E) The commission shall dismiss as a party any intervenor who, after notice, fails to abide by the limitations contained in this section.

(F) The failure of the commission to enforce the terms of this section may be remedied by petition for writ of mandamus or supersedeas in the circuit court, which petition the court shall advance over all other matters on its docket and hear on an emergency basis, without the requirement of a formal answer or other return, such hearing to be held as soon as practicable upon twenty-four hours notice to the party against whom relief is sought. Proceedings related to the petitions may not serve to stay or delay proceedings before the commission.

(G) The commission shall issue a final order that:

(1) sets forth any changes that are required to the rates approved in the revised rates order;

(2) determines the amount of any overcollection or undercollection of the revenues by the utility that resulted from application of the rates authorized in the revised rates order as compared to the rates authorized in the final order issued under this section; and

(3) establishes a credit to refund the amount of an overcollection or a surcharge to collect the amount of an undercollection of revenues that arose during the time that the rates approved in the revised rates order, or imposed due to a failure of the commission to issue a revised rates order, were applicable and requires the utility to apply the credit or surcharge until such time as the overcollection or undercollection is exhausted.

(H) If the final order increases the amount of capital costs for which the utility may recover its weighted average cost of capital through revised rates, the AFUDC booked on those capital costs between the issuance of the revised rates order and the final order shall remain on the books of the utility and shall not be reversed or adjusted. Surcharges related to undercollection of costs must be calculated without consideration of AFUDC amounts recognized on the capital costs during this period.

(I) If the final order reduces the amount of capital cost for which the utility may recover its weighted average cost of capital through revised rates for reasons other than the conclusive finding that the capital costs were imprudently incurred, then the utility may resume accrual of AFUDC on any capital costs that were not included in rate recovery and may book an amount of AFUDC equal to the AFUDC not recognized during the time the rates approved in the revised rates order were in effect.

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