03/00: Restructuring legislation, Senate Bill 1168, was introduced and referred to the Committee on Judiciary. The bill would allow retail direct access within three years in South Carolina. Debate and discussions continue in both the House and Senate, but few expect passage of a bill this session.

05/99: Three restructuring bills and one joint resolution calling for a study of restructuring the electric power industry have not been passed in the legislature. The legislature continues to debate and review the bill proposed by Representative Cato at this time.

03/99: Restructuring legislation was introduced. The bill calls for competition to be phased-in over 6 years and would allow regulators to determine how much utilities could recover in stranded costs.

12/98: A task force was appointed to study deregulation in South Carolina.

11/98: A restructuring bill was prefiled that would create a deregulation task force.

10/98: The PSC released a report on deregulation that stated the cost of deregulating the 3 large investor-owned utilities in the state would be about $1.4 billion. Stranded costs for South Carolina Electric and Gas were estimated to be $882 million; for Carolina Power & Light, $410 million; and for Duke Energy, $81 million. The Piedmont Municipal Power Agency, not regulated by the PUC, estimated its stranded costs (mostly associated with its part ownership in Catawba nuclear station) at $2.8 billion. The PMPA wanted recovery of its stranded costs to be spread across the State.

09/98: The PSC estimated stranded costs for Duke Energy at $81 million; for Carolina Power & Light at $410 million; for South Carolina Electric and Gas at $882 million; and for Lockhart Power Co, $0.

06/98: The Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSC) decided to conduct stranded cost proceedings for the 4 investor-owned utilities in the State, expecting completion by the end of the year.

04/98: The PSC requested utilities to calculate their stranded costs under a retail access scenario.

02/98: The PSC issued the Proposed Electric Restructuring Implementation Process as requested by the House Speaker. The plan calls for a five-year transition period following passage of legislation to deregulate the electric power industry. Also, utilities would submit recovery plans for approval by the PSC.

05/97: The House Speaker requested a PSC study and recommendations for restructuring electric industry by January 1998.

1997: Legislation (Bills 346 and 3414) to restructure the electric industry and allow retail wheeling were introduced in the House and Senate. The bills would allow retail competition to be phased in beginning January 1998 and going through January 1999. Neither were acted on in the 2-year legislative session that ended in June 1998.