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Former SCANA CEO Will Land in Prison as Result of V.C. Summer Nuclear Project

October 17, 2021

Kevin B. Marsh, former CEO of SCANA Corp., was sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud related to the V.C. Summer nuclear expansion project.

Marsh is the first defendant in the case to be sentenced as a result of the investigation. However, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has obtained felony guilty pleas from Stephen Byrne, former executive vice president of SCANA and former COO of South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G), and Carl Churchman, former vice president with Westinghouse Electric Corp. and the project director of the V.C. Summer nuclear project. It has also charged Jeffrey Benjamin, former senior vice president with Westinghouse, in a 16-count felony criminal indictment. Benjamin maintains his innocence, however, and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina M. Rhett DeHart has said all charges against him are merely accusations—the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

In the case of Marsh, however, the evidence presented in court “showed that he intentionally defrauded ratepayers while overseeing and managing SCANA’s operations—including the construction of two reactors at the V.C.…

Regulators Back Dominion Takeover of SCANA

December 18, 2018

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Dominion Energy’s bid to purchase SCANA Corp. and its South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) utility, approved by South Carolina regulators on Dec. 14, could bring some stability to SCANA. Shareholders hope that’s the case; they’re excited about swapping their devalued SCANA shares for more valuable Dominion stock.

Workers, though, remain uncertain about their futures, fearing job losses with SCANA moving from local ownership to operating under the auspices of a Virginia-based company. On the flip side, workers also know new ownership could help the company’s bottom line and prevent job cuts, which Dominion has addressed in its merger agreement.

South Carolina’s Public Service Commission (PSC) unanimously supported Dominion’s offer for SCANA, despite protests from environmental groups and others who say the deal is not good for state ratepayers. SCANA CEO Jimmy Addison said the PSC’s decision put the companies “one step closer to a final resolution and the certainty that stakeholders have been hoping for.”

Thomas Farrell, Dominion’s chairman, president and CEO, in a statement Friday said his company was “encouraged” by the PSC’s unanimous support, “and awaits an order to review prior to making a final decision to close the merger with SCANA.”…

SCANA Hit with New Subpoena From SEC

October 19, 2017

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SCANA Corp., already under federal and state scrutiny for how it handled the now-abandoned V.C. Summer nuclear expansion, has been served with a document subpoena by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

SCANA said in a news release that it intends to fully cooperate with the investigation of the nuclear project. The development follows a drastic drop in the company’s share price in late September.

SCANA and project partner Santee Cooper in mid-September received federal subpoenas for documents associated with a much-guarded February 2016 assessment report conducted by Bechtel, documentation of meetings with the construction and civil engineering firm, and documentation of site walkdowns and real-time observations at the half-built project.

South Carolina lawmakers on September 26 urged state law enforcement to conduct a criminal investigation into how the project was handled. The measure came after several legislative committee hearings, many focused on the Bechtel audit. At one point, state lawmakers threatened to subpoena if the utilities didn’t release it.…

UPDATED: SCANA, Santee Cooper Abandon V.C. Summer AP1000 Nuclear Units, Citing High Costs

August 1, 2017

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SCANA Corp. and Santee Cooper have ceased construction of Units 2 and 3 at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in South Carolina.

The project owners said the decision, prompted by analysis of detailed schedule and cost data, would save customers nearly $ 7 billion. The project, which was about 64% complete, has been in limbo since key contractor Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy in March.

The decision comes just days after Westinghouse’s parent company Toshiba agreed to pay the two project owners nearly $ 2.2 billion to cap its liabilities from the unfinished nuclear project. Toshiba reached a similar $ 3.7 billion agreement with Southern Co. in June as it seeks to limit its liabilities from the Vogtle project. Both AP1000 nuclear projects are years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget.

Construction continues at the two Vogtle AP1000 units in Georgia. A project owner, Georgia Power, on July 28 told POWER that it expects to complete the cost-to-complete and schedule assessment by the end of August.…

SCANA, Santee Cooper Buy More Time for V.C. Summer Decision

June 27, 2017

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SCANA Corp. subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCG&E) and Santee Cooper—owners of the two-unit expansion of the V.C. Summer nuclear plant—have extended an interim assessment agreement with Westinghouse to allow the project’s owners to “continue to make progress on the site.”

The companies on June 26 extended the agreement to August 10, but it is subject to bankruptcy court approval.

“The agreement extension allows the co-owners additional time to maintain all of their options by continuing construction on the project, while examining all of the relevant information for a thorough and careful assessment to determine the most prudent path forward,” the project owners said.

“The goal is to reach a decision in the third quarter.”

A Hard Decision to Make

SCE&G and Santee Cooper have worked with Westinghouse to reach agreement on the project even before the Toshiba company filed for bankruptcy protection in late March. Westinghouse cited liquidity crisis stemming from losses at the V.C. Summer and Vogtle AP1000 projects for its financial collapse.…