Opinion ID: 1404645
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Alleged Failings of the SCE & G Application

Text: Appellant next contends SCE & G failed to update its integrated resource plan (IRP) or complete a review of potential energy efficiency and demand side management (DSM) load reductions, thus SCE & G has failed to adequately demonstrate the need for the proposed capacity expansion of the Facility. We disagree. The Commission's order references SCE & G's then-forthcoming DSM reports, as well as the company's requirement under section 58-37-20 of the South Carolina Code (Supp. 2009) to file an IRP. Based on the evidence and testimony included in SCE & G's combined application, both in favor and against, the Commission determined SCE & G had adequately accounted for and addressed these concerns in its forecasts. The consensus reached by the Commission was that SCE & G had demonstrated a need to build the Facility, irrespective of the concerns. DSM programs are designed to reduce the overall energy consumption of customers. There are two general types of DSM programs: first, demand reduction programs that involve motivating customers to shift their use of power away from peak energy usage periods, thus limiting or reducing the growth of energy consumption during a utility's peak demand; and second, energy efficient programs which seek to reduce customers' overall energy consumption through customer information and energy conservation programs designed to educate the energy-consuming public. With respect to SCE & G's DSM reports, the Commission noted that SCE & G, at the time of the order, was exploring the revitalization of its programs in light of the current energy prices, general economic conditions, and the increased environmental concerns of its customers. In addition, the Commission acknowledged that SCE & G could have made a better effort at establishing its energy efficiency programs in the past, and stated its anticipation at reviewing the company's new DSM programs in June of 2009. Nonetheless, viewing the entirety of the evidence before it, the Commission determined that DSM programs were not a viable substitute for the base load capacity for which SCE & G had established a need, and sought to fulfill in the construction of the Facility. Appellant also contends SCE & G's most recent IRP update, which was completed in May of 2008, was not done close enough in time to the Application, and failed to give an accurate portrayal of the need SCE & G was facing. According to the Commission: The objective of the IRP process is the development of a plan that results in the minimization of the long run total costs of the utility's overall system and produces the least cost to the consumer consistent with the availability of an adequate and reliable supply of electricity while maintaining system flexibility and considering environmental impacts. In conjunction with the overall objective, the IRP should contribute toward the outcomes of improved customer service, additional customer options, and improved efficiencies of energy utilization. Order No. 1991-885, August 28, 1991. Under section 58-37-40(A) of the South Carolina Code (Supp.2009), electrical utilities are required to file a detailed, fifteen year IRP with the State Energy Office, every three years, with updates made annually. Appellant maintains that, because SCE & G did not conduct a separate IRP specifically for this combined applicationand based on its typical IRP schedule, SCE & G's last IRP filing was in May of 2008the data and forecasts that were a part of their most recent IRP were unreliable. As part and parcel to this argument, Appellant contends SCE & G failed to consider alternatives to nuclear power, such as solar, wind, landfill gas, biomass, natural gas, and coal. However, this argument is contradicted by the direct testimony of SCE & G's experts and employees, wherein they stated SCE & G considered each of the seven types of energy generation facilities listed above. Finally, Appellant argues the Commission should have deferred its decision on SCE & G's combined application, or in the alternative, should have prospectively limited the company's ability to make adjustments in the approved schedule or budget for completion of the Facility. This argument is made, in principal part, due to the Application's alleged inadequacies regarding SCE & G's IRP and DSM plans. However, under the plain reading of the Base Load Review Act, neither of these requests are contemplated or authorized; therefore, Appellant's contentions are without merit. The General Assembly specifically provided that the Commission must rule and issue an order, either approving or disapproving, a request made by a utility, including requests made in an application under the Base Load Review Act, within nine months of the filing of the combined application. See S.C.Code Ann. § 58-33-240(E) (Supp.2009) (modifying, for the purposes of the Base Load Review Act, the Commission's traditional requirement that all orders be filed within six months). This provision grants the Commission no discretion to delay the issuance of its order. Furthermore, section 58-33-270(E) of the South Carolina Code (Supp.2009) provides that once a final order by the Commission has been issued, a utility may petition the commission ... for an order modifying any of the schedules, estimates, findings, class allocation factors, rate designs, or conditions that form part of any base load review order issued under this section. Clearly the General Assembly did not contemplate the Commission's ability to prevent subsequent modification of its orders under the Base Load Review Act, as subsection (E) expressly provides the utility that right. As explained above, based on the overwhelming amount of evidence in the record, the Commission's determination that SCE & G considered all forms of viable energy generation, and concluded that nuclear energy was the least costly alternative source, is supported by substantial evidence.