§ 58-33-20 — Definitions.

South Carolina § 58-33-20

• Jurisdiction: South Carolina
• Title 58: PUBLIC UTILITIES, SERVICES AND CARRIERS
• Ch. 33: UTILITY FACILITY SITING AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Text

The following words, when used in this chapter, has the following meanings, unless otherwise clearly apparent from the context: (1) The term "commission" means Public Service Commission. (2) The term "major utility facility" means: (a) electric generating plant and associated facilities designed for, or capable of, operation at a capacity of more than seventy-five megawatts. (b) an electric transmission line and associated facilities of a designed operating voltage of one hundred twenty-five kilovolts or more; provided, however, that the words "major utility facility" shall not include electric distribution lines and associated facilities. (3) The term "commence to construct" means any clearing of land, excavation, or other action that would adversely affect the natural environment of the site or route of a major utility facility, but does not include surveying or changes needed for temporary use of sites or routes for nonutility purposes, or uses in securing geological data, including necessary borings to ascertain foundation conditions. (4) The term "municipality" means any county or municipality within this State. (5) The term "person" includes any individual, group, firm, partnership, corporation, cooperative, association, government subdivision, government agency, local government, municipality, any other organization, or any combination of any of the foregoing, and shall include the South Carolina Public Service Authority. (6) The term "public utility" or "utility" means any person engaged in the generating, distributing, sale, delivery, or furnishing of electricity for public use. (7) The term "land" means any real estate or any estate or interest therein, including water and riparian rights, regardless of the use to which it is devoted. (8) The term "certificate" means a certificate of environmental compatibility and public convenience and necessity. (9) The term "regulatory staff" means the executive director or the executive director and the employees of the Office of Regulatory Staff. (10) The term "like facility" with reference to generation facilities and without limitation, includes a facility or facilities that are proposed to provide capacity on a site currently or previously used for siting electric generation that replaces the capacity of a facility or facilities that are being retired, abandoned, brownfield, downrated, mothballed, or dedicated to standby or emergency service at the same site, limited to facilities no more than 300 megawatts for non-nuclear generation, so long as those new facilities will provide an amount of effective load-carrying capacity that in whole or in part will serve to replace the capacity to be lost as a result of retirement, capacity lost as a result of abandonment, or in the case of nuclear generation, will serve to provide the facility and includes associated transmission facilities needed to deliver power from that facility to customers. A "like facility" with reference to transmission facilities and, without limitation, includes any facility that represents the rebuilding, reconductoring, paralleling, increasing voltage, adding circuits or otherwise reconfiguring of an existing transmission line or other transmission facilities including, without limitation, projects to increase the capacity of such facilities, provided such facilities are: (a) located materially within a utility right of way or corridor; or (b) substantially located on the property of a customer, prospective customer, or the State.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 1962 Code SECTION 58-1803; 1971 (57) 889; 2006 Act No. 318, SECTION 221, eff May 24, 2006; 2021 Act No. 90 (H.3194), SECTION 19, eff January 1, 2022; 2025 Act No. 41 (H.3309), SECTION 19.A, eff May 12, 2025. Code Commissioner's Note At the direction of the Code Commissioner, the first undesignated paragraph, which was inadvertently deleted by 2021 Act No. 90, SECTION 19, was reinstated. Editor's Note 2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 1, provides as follows: "SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the 'South Carolina Energy Security Act.' " 2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 33, provides as follows: "SECTION 33. (A) To foster economic development and future jobs in this State resulting from the supply chains associated with the same while supporting the significant and growing energy and capacity needs of the State, enhance grid resiliency, and maintain reliability, the General Assembly finds that the State of South Carolina should take steps necessary to encourage the development of a diverse mix of long-lead, clean generation resources that may include nuclear and advanced nuclear, biomass as defined in Section 12-63-20(B)(2) of the S.C. Code, hydrogen-capable resources, fusion energy, and other technologies, and should preserve the option of efficiency development of such long-lead resources with timely actions to establish or maintain eligibility for or capture available tax or other financial incentives or address operational needs. "(B) For an electrical utility to capture available tax or other financial or operational incentives for South Carolina ratepayers in a timely manner, the commission may find that actions by an electrical utility in pursuit of the directives in Section 58-37-35(A) are in the public interest, provided that the commission determines that such proposed actions are in the public interest and reasonably balance economic development and industry retention benefits, capacity expansion benefits, resource adequacy and diversification and potential risks, costs, and benefits to ratepayers and otherwise comply with all other legal requirements applicable to the electrical utility's proposed action. For the South Carolina Public Service Authority, the Office of Regulatory Staff and the Public Service Authority's board of directors shall apply the same principles described in this subsection in evaluating and approving actions proposed by the management of the Public Service Authority to achieve the objectives of this section." 2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 41, provides as follows: "SECTION 41. (A) Five years after the effective date of this act, the Office of the Regulatory Staff shall prepare a report, to be filed with the Public Utilities Review Committee and the General Assembly, to address the implementation of Article 24, Chapter 27, Title 58 as it relates to the following areas: "(1) assessing the functioning of the procedures established by section with recommendation for any changes required to ensure their efficient functioning, to promote regulatory efficiency, and to make further the establishment of just, reasonable, and fair rates; "(2) assessing the effect of rates on ratepayers of all classes; "(3) assessing the reliability of the electric system and whether investments made by electric utilities increased reliability compared to any change in electric utility rates experienced by ratepayers within the same timeframe; and "(4) any other information requested by the General Assembly to be included within the report. "(B) The Office of Regulatory Staff may engage a qualified, independent third party to assist in preparation of the report. "(C) All expenses and charges incurred by the Office of Regulatory Staff in the performance of its duties within this section may be defrayed by assessments made by the Comptroller General against the regulated electrical utilities regulated and based upon twenty-five percent of the gross revenues collected by such electrical utilities from their business done wholly within this State in the manner set out in Section 58-4-60 for other corporations." 2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 42, provides as follows: "SECTION 42. Upon passage of this act, Dominion Energy shall evaluate the process for converting the Wateree Generating Station from coal-fired generation to biomass-fired generation. Biomass-fired generation includes, but is not limited to, generation from the firing of wood pellets and wood chips. Dominion Energy must make a report concerning the conversion process to the Public Service Commission and General Assembly by no later than January 13, 2026." Effect of Amendment 2021 Act No. 90, SECTION 19, in (2), in (b), deleted ", nor shall the words 'major utility facility' include electric transmission lines and associated facilities leased to and operated by (or which upon completion of construction are to be leased to and operated by) the South Carolina Public Service Authority" at the end; and in (5), substituted "and shall include" for "but shall not include". 2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 19.A, added (10). 2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 19.B, reenacted (2)(A) with no apparent change. ARTICLE 3 Certification of Major Utility Facilities