South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G), principal subsidiary of
SCANA Corporation (NYSE:SCG), announced today that the Public Service
Commission of South Carolina (Commission) has approved a settlement
agreement between SCE&G, the South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff
(ORS) and all other parties of record regarding SCE&G’s request for an
adjustment to the fuel cost portion of its electric rates.
The Commission and ORS annually review the costs SCE&G incurs in
purchasing fuel to operate its electric generation facilities. The
company is then directed to adjust base rates either upward or downward
to reflect those costs. Approved fuel costs are billed as a direct
pass-through to customers; SCE&G cannot, and does not, earn a profit on
that portion of its rates. Fuel costs currently represent about 31
percent of what a residential customer pays for a kilowatt hour of
electricity.
Under terms of the settlement agreement, residential electric rates will
increase approximately 2.44 percent resulting in an overall increase in
the average monthly electric bill for a residential customer using 1,000
kilowatt hours in the amount of $2.80 beginning in May 2009. The company
is deferring a portion of the increase over a three year period,
effectively reducing the monthly increase for customers.
"We are pleased with the decision of the Commission. With the economic
challenges so many of our customers are facing today, we thought it best
to spread this cost out over a longer period which, in turn, will lessen
the financial impact on customers,” said Kevin Marsh, president of SCE&G.
South Carolina Electric & Gas Company is a regulated public utility
engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of
electricity to approximately 652,000 customers in 26 counties in the
central, southern and southwestern portions of South Carolina. The
company also provides natural gas service to approximately 309,000
customers in 34 counties in the state. More information about SCE&G is
available at www.sceg.com.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
Statements included in this press release which are not statements of
historical fact are intended to be, and are hereby identified as,
"forward-looking statements” for purposes of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements include,
but are not limited to, statements concerning key earnings drivers,
customer growth, environmental regulations and expenditures, leverage
ratio, projections for pension fund contributions, financing activities,
access to sources of capital, impacts of the adoption of new accounting
rules, estimated construction and other expenditures. In some cases,
forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as
"may,” "will,” "could,” "should,” "expects,” "plans,” "anticipates,”
"believes,” "estimates,” "projects,” "predicts,” "potential” or
"continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar terminology.
Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks and
uncertainties, and that actual results could differ materially from
those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Important factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
indicated by such forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, the following: (1) the information is of a preliminary
nature and may be subject to further and/or continuing review and
adjustment; (2) regulatory actions, particularly changes in rate
regulation and environmental regulations; (3) current and future
litigation; (4) changes in the economy, especially in areas served by
subsidiaries of SCANA Corporation (SCANA); (5) the impact of competition
from other energy suppliers, including competition from alternate fuels
in industrial interruptible markets; (6) growth opportunities for
SCANA’s regulated and diversified subsidiaries; (7) the results of
short- and long-term financing efforts, including future prospects for
obtaining access to capital markets and other sources of liquidity; (8)
changes in SCANA’s or its subsidiaries’ accounting rules and accounting
policies; (9) the effects of weather, including drought, especially in
areas where the Company’s generation and transmission facilities are
located and in areas served by SCANA's subsidiaries; (10) payment by
counterparties as and when due; (11) the results of efforts to license,
site, construct and finance facilities for baseload electric generation;
(12) the availability of fuels such as coal, natural gas and enriched
uranium used to produce electricity; the availability of purchased power
and natural gas for distribution; the level and volatility of future
market prices for such fuels and purchased power; and the ability to
recover the costs for such fuels and purchased power; (13) performance
of SCANA’s pension plan assets; (14) inflation; (15) compliance with
regulations; and (16) the other risks and uncertainties described from
time to time in the periodic reports filed by SCANA or South Carolina
Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G) with the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC). The Company disclaims any obligation to
update any forward-looking statements.
