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Santee Cooper outlines path to finish VC Summer units; developer selected, $2.7 billion FID cited
Summary
Santee Cooper officials told the advisory council Brookfield Asset Management was selected to complete VC Summer Units 2 and 3, that a Financial Investment Decision around $2.7 billion is the target and that Santee Cooper would retain roughly 25% of plant output; staff estimated 18–24 months and $150–$200 million of pre‑FID work to reach that point.
Santee Cooper’s chief operating officer, Mike Finnese, told the advisory council the utility selected Brookfield Asset Management after a competitive 2025 procurement and is working through site access, asset inventories and Phase 1 remediation ahead of a Financial Investment Decision (FID) estimated near $2.7 billion.
Finnese said the procurement drew about 14 interested firms and was narrowed to a single developer that offered the best combination of financial capacity and team experience. At FID, he said, Santee Cooper would transfer development rights to the private developer and retain roughly a 25% ownership interest (about 25% of output). He described the developer arrangement and the project governance structure the utility is negotiating with Brookfield.
Why it matters: the payment at FID is large enough to materially affect Santee Cooper’s balance sheet and, depending on how proceeds are applied, could change customer rates and debt levels.
Finnese said the near‑term work includes scanning and reconciling approximately 2,600 boxes of older construction documents, setting up on‑site administrative facilities and finishing a hardware/software simulator for operator training. He described Phase 1 as a forensic and planning phase — cataloging on‑site assets, confirming licensing paths and identifying remediation tasks.
On timing and cost, Santee Cooper officials told the council an internal schedule for reaching FID is about 18 to 24 months and that getting to that decision would require roughly $150–$200 million of project‑level work (detailed engineering, milestone development and risk reduction). Finnese emphasized the size and labor intensity of the project and noted Westinghouse personnel and other contractors are already active on site.
Council members pressed Finnese on risk allocation and contracting strategy. He said Santee Cooper and Brookfield are discussing a progressive or “open book” EPC approach to avoid the pitfalls of a single lump‑sum, hard‑price contract and to preserve flexibility while moving most technical risk into detailed engineering before firm price commitments.
Questions about equipment and claims: board members asked whether any major claims existed on critical components. Finnese said Unit 2 retains about 80–90% of its major components and there were no unresolved claims on Unit 2 equipment or land. On the heavy‑lift crane, he said the crane is on site but will be assembled for construction rather than left in situ as a safety precaution.
On the financial side, Finnese said the plan is to apply proceeds from a developer payment to reduce existing Santee Cooper debt; staff modeling indicates that would support lower customer rates, but he noted the Board of Directors would make the final decision. “That’s the plan,” Finnese said when asked how the $2.7 billion would be applied.
What’s next: Santee Cooper said it expects to select a project manager and an EPC partner in the coming quarters, to finish Phase 1 asset and licensing reviews, and to firm up the milestone‑based path to FID. Council members repeatedly urged independent oversight and clear governance to manage the project’s scale and complexity.
