South Carolina Electric & Gas Company lobbies for $22.6 million cut to natural gas base rates
The South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G) filed an effort with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina and the South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff this week to reduce its retail natural gas base rates by 5.29 percent.
The cut would see rates fall by $22.6 million for the regulated public utility, potentially affecting around 371,000 natural gas customers in the state. If approved, the decrease would take effect starting this November. Residential customers could expect to see their bill amounts drop by as much as 7.4 percent — around $4.09 per month. Those figures are based on average annual usage.
The company credits the lower corporate tax rate under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 as one of the driving factors of the decrease. SCE&G also reports its operating results have been strong enough to allow this.
The lowering of such costs is governed by the state’s Natural Gas Rate Stabilization Act.
