South Carolina Breaking News
Attorney General Sues Utility for Overbilling 10/28
Duke Power Must Return $30 Million to Ratepayers 9/11
Attorney General Sues Utility for Overbilling
(October 28) SCE&G has been overcharging customers who
live outside city limits by making them pay an unnecessary franchise fee, according to
Attorney General Henry McMaster, who filed an unfair trade practices suit against South
Carolina Electric & Gas Co.
At least 5,000 customers and "possibly in the tens of
thousands" had been overcharged by SCE&G for an undetermined time, according to
information developed by his office, McMaster said.
These people live in unincorporated areas to which SCE&G
provides electricity and gas, McMaster said. In all, the utility has 560,000 electric
customers and 260,000 natural gas customers in 31 counties. About 40 percent of the
utility's customers live outside city or town limits.
Many S.C. towns and cities give SCE&G the exclusive right to
sell power in return for a yearly franchise fee paid by the utility. SCE&G charges
that fee to its city customers. The fee is about 3 percent of the monthly bill. McMaster
alleges the utility improperly charged the fee to some non-city residents.
Under the law, McMaster can seek a $5,000 fine for each
overcharge. If 5,000 people were overcharged once, he could seek $25 million in damages.
But high fines are extremely rare in S.C. courts.
A utility official acknowledged Wednesday that SCE&G might
have incorrectly billed in-city franchise fees to a few customers who live outside city
limits. However, said utility spokesman Robin Montgomery, the number would be "very,
very small." The attorney general's lawsuit alleges the overcharging was
"willfully" done. But Montgomery said any mistakes were unintentional.
Source: The (Charleston) Post and Courier
Duke Power Must Return $30 Million to Ratepayers
(September 11) Duke Power must return $30 million to S.C.
ratepayers over the next 12 months because it made too much money in the past year, the
state utility commission ruled Tuesday. That means Duke will credit $16.56 to the average
residential customer in South Carolina over the next year. S.C. industrial and commercial
users will save more.
As a regulated monopoly, Duke is required to stay at or below a
certain profit level -- a 12.25 percent return on what it invested in power plants and
other equipment. But for the year ended March 31, the company earned 14.25 percent, or $41
million more than its target amount.
The Public Service Commission ruling comes as a federal grand
jury in Charlotte is investigating allegations that Duke Power intentionally used
inappropriate accounting methods between 1998 and 2000 to avoid earning more than its
target.
The state's acting consumer advocate, Elliott Elam, wants S.C.
regulators to open a formal rate case with Duke. That would allow outsiders to crack into
Duke's books and the Public Service Commission to either raise or lower rates.
Duke's last S.C. rate case was in 1991, which Elam said was too
long ago. "If (overearning $41 million) doesn't force regulators to investigate
rates, I don't know what would," he said.
S.C. regulators said they would delay voting on that request
after they heard it for the first time Monday. Elam was pessimistic after Tuesday's vote
that the commission would OK a rate case.
"David and Goliath doesn't even begin to start to describe
it," he said.
Source: Charlotte Observer
Back to news |