Senate subcommittee advances joint authorization for Kennedy natural-gas plant amid timeline concerns

A Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Thursday adopted an amendment to Senate Bill 3309 and gave the measure a favorable report, advancing legislation that would authorize a joint natural-gas combined-cycle build at the Kennedy site in Colleton County.

Supporters told the panel the project needs a clear legislative answer soon so utilities can secure long lead-time combustion turbines and capture cost savings by building jointly. Opponents and intervenors urged continued regulatory safeguards and cautioned against shifting too much risk to ratepayers.

The question before the subcommittee mattered because manufacturers’ production queues for large combustion turbines are constrained and delivery windows run multiple years. “If you sign up today, you’ve got about four years to get a turbine,” said a utility witness who described work to line up gas supply and equipment. He added the joint approach could “reduce the cost by about 30%” compared with single-utility builds.

Why it matters: witnesses for Santee Cooper and other utilities said South Carolina faces substantial load growth and aging fleet issues — Santee Cooper’s system was described as roughly 5,400 megawatts of capacity with a…