By Jerry Bellune
JerryBellune@yahoo.com

Dominion Energy’s Lexington County ratepayers  already pay the highest rates in the US.

As expected, the out-off-state owned utility will ask regulators for a rate hike next month.

How much it wants from its 725,000 ratepayers was not disclosed.

 That will be revealed when Dominion files its request in August.

Its proposed hike is expected to be significant, reported the Charleston Post and Courier. Dominion aims to charge for up to 8 years of unrecovered investments and higher operating costs.
It agreed to absorb those costs when it bought Lexington County-based SC Electric and Gas last year.
Dominion CEO Tom Farrell tells investors his company doesn’t earn enough money in South Carolina. 

Dominion’s timing is bad, the newspaper reported.
• Dominion was forced to cut its high rates to buy SCE&G but that has not satisfied its ratepayers.
• Ratepayers are miffed that Dominion left them holding $2.3 billion more in debt over 20 years for SCE&G’s failed $9 billion nuclear fiasco. 
• Ratepayers are still fuming about the $2 billion extra SCE&G charged them for the nuclear fiasco before abandoning it.
• Ratepayers are unhappy with lawmakers who let SCE&G do it to them.
• Dominion’s high rates for industrial customers has made it harder for Lexington County and SC to attract economic development.
State lawmakers are aware their constituents are still seething. They put utility regulators on notice that no more rubber-stamping rate hikes will be tolerated.

Lawmakers also unburdened the Office of Regulatory Staff of having to protect utilities’ bottom lines.
Now the ORS’s protects only the ratepayers.
The formerly blase Public Service Commission has seen the light, slashing rate hike requests from Duke Energy and Blue Granite Water In Lexington County.

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, one of Dominion’s critics, said he wasn’t surprised Dominion didn’t wait longer to file
The senator who represents Lexington County has told the Chronicle that “Dominion owns the Virginia legislature. They’ll play hardball in South Carolina.”