SCE&G ratepayers may face a new problem.

Nuclear contractors may make claims against the Lexington County company, state regulators warn.

Ratepayers could be stuck with paying those claims.

Westinghouse’s owners paid SC Electric & Gas and partner Santee Cooper $2.168 billion last year for failing to finish a long-delayed nuclear plant.

The two utilities say this forced them to abandon the $9 billion project, almost $2 billion of it from ratepayers.

Now it appears other contractors may make claims against SCE&G and Santee Cooper for unpaid costs.

If a New York bankruptcy court judge rules against the two S.C. utilities, any fines, payments or restitution may be charged to ratepayers, with regulators’ approval.

This was revealed in an Office of Regulatory Staff report on the bankruptcy.

Westinghouse’s owners, Toshiba of Japan, paid the two utilities $150 million and promised another $2.168 billion on the defaulted contract.

Taxpayer-owned Santee Cooper and SCE&G’s owners, SCANA Corp., sold all future payments on the $2.168 billion settlement to Citibank for $171 million. They shared none of it with ratepayers in lower electric bills.

Citibank gambled that Toshiba would pay the entire amount over time.

SCE&G’s owners, SCANA Corp., said, “This transaction allows us to ensure these payments are not subject to further credit risk. SCE&G intends to utilize the net value of these payments to mitigate the cost of the abandoned project to customers.”

Asked if customers meant investors or ratepayers, SCANA spokesman Eric Boomhower said, “Customers refers to the homes and businesses to which SCE&G provides electric service.

“The term does not include investors.

“The Public Service Commission will ultimately decide how the proceeds from the monetization of the Toshiba guaranty will be applied, but SCE&G has proposed that the proceeds be used to benefit customers and recorded a corresponding liability on its books.”

Toshiba’s Interim Assessment Agreement holds the utilities responsible for unpaid claims, the ORS said.

Westinghouse and the utilities agreed their creditors would not be affected – but ratepayers may be.