Noble releases his Reform Energy Policy

South Carolina Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate, Phil Noble has released his Radical Better Energy Reform Policy. Noble’s plan calls for radical reforms in order to protect consumers and create a sustainable energy future at the lowest possible cost.

“Everything is on the table; we need big, bold and radically better reforms” said Noble. “The guiding principles are: 1) 100 percent refund of consumers’ money, 2) sending those guilty of crimes to jail, 3) creating the regulatory and legal structures to prevent another scandal and 4) moving the state to a sustainable, renewable energy future.”

What went wrong in SC with VC Summer and Santee Cooper? The underlying reasons were:

  • Corporate leadership that was fundamentally dishonest, greedy and irresponsible.
  • The legislature has become a bought and paid for, wholly owned subsidiary of the utility companies.
  • A regulatory structure unable to put on the brakes when the project went wrong and is still totally unaccountable today.
  • A system under which utilities make profit based on how much they can spend on hard infrastructure—not based on performance.
  • A monopoly system devoid of normal competitive pressures to control cost and improve service.

What the governor and all state legislators should do now?

  • Give back all utility money re campaign contributions
  • Disclose any ‘dark money’ payments from utilities in consulting or legal retainers.
  • Appoint a special prosecutor to investigate for criminal wrongdoing.
  • Establish an independent investigation, outside of the legislature, to full determine what happened and who is responsible – and develop a radical reform plan to ensure that this never happens again.

“It is way past time to move forward with the radically better reforms we know we need. These reforms should be aimed at insuring abundant and affordable energy for the state’s future growth and protecting citizens whose monthly utility bills are 18 percent higher because of the negligence of SCANA, Santee-Cooper, and the regulators and legislators who let it happen. What’s happened to energy consumers in South Carolina is a crime,” Noble said.

Noble’s Key Radically Better Energy Reform Initiatives, as Governor, would include:

  • On his first day in office, fire the whole board of Santee Cooper and force the board of SCANA to resign as part of any settlement going forward.
  • Allowing the governor to appoint Public Service Commission members, with the consent of the Senate, to reduce the likelihood that senior legislators use these appointments to reward friends and to minimize the influence of utility lobbyists in choosing officials who oversee the work of their clients;
  • Creating a fully independent, adequately-funded utility Consumer Advocate whose office exclusively represents the interests of ratepayers;
  • Reforming retail rate regulation so the utility makes a profit based on service metrics rather than capital investment (i.e., “Performance Based Ratemaking”). Energy efficiency measures should drive utility profits, which, in turn, should reduce overall system costs;
  • Prohibit utilities companies, the senior executives and their principle suppliers of professional services from contributing to any political parties, candidates or other political organizations at any level;
  • Prohibit members of the legislature, state constitutional officers and their staffs and immediate family members from owning stock in utilities doing business in South Carolina;
  • Prohibit members of the legislature, state constitutional officers and their staffs and immediate family members from working for or on behalf of a utility while in office and for 10 years after they leave state government employment.
  • Radically expanding use of solar, wind and other alternative energy sources to further support South Carolina’s growing infrastructure.

“These reforms would immediately put pressure on the regulators to apply the brakes to projects that go wrong, insure greater public accountability, and control rates and improve service through meaningful consumer representation in a monopoly devoid of normal competitive pressures,” said Noble. “But, this is just the beginning and we need to totally and radical reform of our energy policy to make our state a national leader in renewable, responsible and honest policy that can sustain our states’ economic future.”

Author: mrollins

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