Should ratepayers have a say in what power companies do with their money?
The Energy and Policy Institute claims Dominion Energy and other big utilities use charitable donations for political purposes.
Between 2013 and 2017, the report estimates Dominion Energy that serves Lexington County gave $105,972,472 to charity.
The institute checked 990 forms filed by 10 utilities with the IRS and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 2013 to 2017.
It found the money comes from ratepayers’ pockets.
Ron Aiken of state watchdog Office of Regulatory Staff said regulated monopolies are not supposed to recover donations in what they charge customers.
But the money comes from the profits the SC Public Service Commission allows Dominion to pass on to their ratepayers.
At this time, the PSC allows Dominion to collect:
• A 9.9% profit in rates they charge to pay off their $5 billion nuclear debt over the next 20 years.
• A 10.25% profit on their other operations, far more than banks and other lenders are able to charge.
“Yes, it comes from ratepayers, but that’s their allowable profit,” Dawn Hipp of ORS said. “It’s their profit, and they can do with it whatever they want.”
Dominion Energy stated it is “proud of our long history of generous giving to support a wide range of charitable programs.”
The report gave no examples of political influence by giving in South Carolina.
The EPI does point to Katharine Bond, executive director of the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation.
The report states she is also the senior policy director for Dominion and registered company lobbyist.
The report found 4 ways utilities use giving in politics and public relations:
• They give to charities that back them politically.
• They curry favor by giving to politicians’ favorite charities and groups.
• They use giving to suppress resistance and dissent.
• They use charities to extort support from low-income communities and communities of color.