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CAYCE, S.C., Feb. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning with the February billing cycle, customers of SCE&G, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dominion Energy, will begin seeing the benefits of the Dominion Energy-SCANA merger reflected in their monthly energy bills in the form of long-term lower electric bills.
"Dominion Energy committed to the Public Service Commission (Commission) of South Carolina that SCE&G customers will continue to experience savings on their electric bills as a result of Dominion Energy's levelized Customer Benefits Plan," said Rodney Blevins, president & chief executive officer of the Southeast Energy Group, which houses SCANA Corporation's operating and services companies, including SCE&G. "The new billing levels are part of the recent combination of Dominion Energy with SCANA after a three-week public hearing before the Commission."
Benefits to customers resulting from the merger include the following:
Additionally, customers will see the following reductions to their electric bills beginning in May, subject to regulatory approvals:
In addition to annual DSM and fuel-adjustment filings, the Company will file a general rate case in mid-2020 that will incorporate merger savings and changes in cost of service, among other things. Any changes to rates approved by the Commission affecting customers' monthly bills would take effect Jan. 1, 2021, in compliance with Dominion Energy's merger commitment to freeze base rates until then.
In recent weeks, the Company has received questions about the status of up-front cash refunds that were a key feature of the original merger proposal. The Customer Benefits Plan Dominion Energy originally proposed in conjunction with the merger included an offer to provide SCE&G electric customers a one-time cash payment totaling $1.3 billion, which would have been a $1,000 cash payment to the average residential customer.
Over the course of the regulatory proceedings, the Company became aware of significant support from policymakers and other key stakeholders for a plan that focused more on long-term bill relief instead of up-front cash refunds.
"After listening to policymakers and other key participants, we developed and offered a plan to lower bills as much as we could while still providing equivalent or greater value for customers," Blevins said. "While this option eliminated the one-time payment of $1,000 for an average residential customer as we originally proposed, it produced a significantly larger decrease to electric bills. We understand some customers will be disappointed that refund checks are not included in the final approved plan, but we believe customers and South Carolina will benefit from the lower payments. The lower electric bills will also help make South Carolina more competitive in attracting new business to the state by taking SCE&G's bills from among the highest in the region to levels near the regional average, and well below the national average."
Based in Cayce, S.C., South Carolina Electric & Gas Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dominion Energy. The regulated public utility is engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity to approximately 731,000 customers in the central, southern and southwestern portions of South Carolina. The company also provides natural gas service to approximately 379,000 customers throughout the state. Please visit www.sceg.com to learn more.
Nearly 7.5 million customers in 18 states energize their homes and businesses with electricity or natural gas from Dominion Energy (NYSE: D), headquartered in Richmond, Va. The company is committed to sustainable, reliable, affordable and safe energy and is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy with about $100 billion of assets providing electric generation, transmission and distribution, as well as natural gas storage, transmission, distribution and import/export services. As one of the nation's leading solar operators, the company intends to reduce its carbon intensity 60 percent by 2030. Through its Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation, as well as EnergyShare and other programs, Dominion Energy contributed nearly $35 million in 2018 to community causes. Please visit www.DominionEnergy.com to learn more.
SOURCE Dominion Energy
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