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Public Service Commission reviews integrated resource plans, competitive procurement and outreach; schedules Act 41 rulemaking hearing
Summary
PSC staff described integrated resource plans and competitive renewable procurement approvals, highlighted work to speed order issuance, and said proposed regulations to implement Act 41 were filed with the Legislative Council with a hearing scheduled for March 17.
Jocelyn Boyd, chief clerk at the Public Service Commission, and Norman Scarborough, director of the commission's public utility analyst department, briefed the subcommittee on PSC operations, recent dockets and outreach activities.
Boyd said the commission updated its docket search to return up to 1,000 results, adopted an electronic order‑alert system to notify parties of orders, and has focused on reducing the average time between commission decisions and formal order issuance to 21.91 days in the most recent fiscal year.
Scarborough described integrated resource plans (IRPs) as 15‑year utility planning documents; he said Dominion, Santee Cooper and Duke have filed updates or plans that reflect a transition away from coal toward a mix of combined‑cycle gas, combustion turbines, solar, battery storage, wind and, in some cases, advanced nuclear to meet rising load driven by population growth, industry and data centers.
Boyd and Scarborough also detailed recent competitive renewable procurement programs approved by the commission. They said Duke Energy's customer programs (Renewable Choice, Clean Energy Impact) are voluntary and may use utility‑owned or third‑party assets, and that Dominion sought commission approval for program guidelines and a public RFP process.
On rate cases, Scarborough said the commission heard two major rate matters in fiscal 2025 and that a settled case produced an authorized return on equity of 9.94%.
Rob Bachman, public information director, outlined outreach: the PSC has livestreamed meetings since 2018 and uses social and paid digital advertising (two contracts with The Post and Courier after an RFP) to drive public awareness. Bachman said the ad campaigns generated roughly 700,000 impressions and thousands of website conversions across campaigns.
Boyd said the PSC held a stakeholder forum on June 13 to gather feedback on Act 41 implementation; the commission filed proposed Act 41 regulations with the Legislative Council in January and scheduled a hearing before the commissioners for March 17.
Representative Steven Long and others pressed PSC staff on why appropriations requests increased; Boyd identified higher Department of Technology Operations charges, a 2% general pay increase for most FTEs, a requested new attorney position, and a TriCaster purchase to enhance livestreaming as primary drivers.
