House Amendment 13
H 5118 - Session 125 (2023-2024)
Electrical Utilities, Electricity Regulation, and Economic Development
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Rep. Wetmore proposes the following amendment (LC-5118.HA0040H):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding an appropriately numbered SECTION to read:

SECTION X. Section 58-27-865 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

(H) As a part of the fuel cost recovery proceedings conducted pursuant to subsection (B), the commission shall study the impacts of establishing a fuel cost recovery mechanism that allows each electrical utility to pass through to customers no more than ninety-eight percent of its under-recovered or over-recovered fuel costs, in order to:
  (1) fairly share the risk of fuel cost changes between the electrical utility and its customers;
  (2) provide the electrical utility with sufficient incentive to reasonably manage or lower its fuel costs and encourage greater use of renewable energy; and
  (3) provide the electrical utility with sufficient incentives to mitigate the risk of sudden or frequent fuel cost changes that cannot otherwise reasonably be mitigated through commercially available means, such as through fuel hedging contracts.

Section 58-27-865 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

(I) Should the commission's study referenced in subsection (H) determine that fuel cost sharing would significantly alter the operation of natural gas facilities and reduce costs for customers, the commission shall have the authority to limit fuel cost recovery to no more than ninety-eight percent, notwithstanding any other provision of law that requires the commission and other agencies to consider the financial integrity of electric utilities.