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Senator warns of federal deadline that could scuttle Santee Cooper reactor sale if RFPs, NDAs and approvals aren’t expedited
Summary
Senator from Buford urged urgency on Santee Cooper’s planned RFP for private bidders to acquire or finish the VC Summer reactor units, saying federal tax credits and loan guarantees require fast action to avoid losing $5.7 billion in potential rate relief.
Senator from Buford used a personal‑interest floor statement to press urgency for the state’s Santee Cooper process to solicit private sector bids for the incomplete VC Summer nuclear reactors.
Lede: The senator told colleagues that Santee Cooper’s planned request for proposals must move faster to give private bidders time to assemble applications for Department of Energy tax credits and loan guarantees, or “the window of opportunity to take $5,700,000,000 of sunk cost off of rate base is gonna go away.”
Nut graf: The argument rested on federal timing constraints: the senator said bidders need weeks — not months — to execute nondisclosure agreements, complete phase‑2 due diligence and file applications with the DOE’s loan and tax credit programs in time to meet statutory allocations. He warned the DOE review process alone takes about a year, and that a missed submission deadline would eliminate access to credits and loan guarantees bidders require to make the financing pencil out.
Details: The senator said he had spoken with potential bidders who told him that an award had to be approved by the Joint Bond Review Committee by June 1 to allow phase‑2 due diligence and a September filing window to be met; he reported a May 5 date tied to the RFP timeline for bid acceptance. He urged parties that are assisting Santee Cooper — including the retained investment bank Centerview Partners, which he named — to distribute nondisclosure agreements and RFP materials so the private sector can prepare timely submissions.
Quotes and attribution: “This is our last opportunity to take $5,700,000,000 that are now in Santee Cooper and Dominion customers rate base off of that rate base,” the senator said from the floor, adding that the project “doesn't get done without those credits and loan guarantees.”
Why it matters: If the state misses federal tax credit and loan guarantee allocation windows, the senator said, private bidders will not be able to assemble the financing needed to finish or acquire the reactors — and South Carolina customers would remain on the hook for the sunk costs. Members asked procedural questions and discussed whether the General Assembly could authorize a resolution to accelerate the process.
Speakers: Senator from Buford (primary speaker), Senator from Charleston (questioner).
