South Carolina § 58-33-230 - Filing applications for proposed construction with commission; copy to and role of Office of Regulatory Staff; application for certificate under Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act for plants inside South Carolina and plants outside South Carolina serving residents.

§ 58-33-230. Filing applications for proposed construction with commission; copy to and role of Office of Regulatory Staff; application for certificate under Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act for plants inside South Carolina and plants outside South Carolina serving residents.

(A) Any utility proposing to construct a plant, individually or jointly with other parties, may elect to come under the terms of this article by filing an application or combined application with the commission, and by serving a copy of that application or combined application on the Office of Regulatory Staff.

(B) If the plant is to be located in South Carolina and no application for a certificate under the Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act has previously been granted or is then pending, the utility shall file a combined application under this article.

(C) If the plant is to be located outside South Carolina but will serve retail customers in this State, the utility shall file a combined application, but as to the Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act, the combined application shall address only the requirements of Section 58-33-160(1)(a), (d), and (f), and information pertaining to the environmental impacts of the plant may not be included in the combined application. In issuing the resulting order as to the Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act, the commission shall make the determinations required under Section 58-33-160(1)(a), (d) and (f) only.

(D) For plants located outside South Carolina that will serve retail customers in this State, the issuance of a certificate for the plant by the host state after a review of issues comparable to those considered under Section 58-33-160(1)(a), (d) and (f) of the Utility Facility Siting and Environmental Protection Act shall create a rebuttable presumption that the requirements of those sections are satisfied.

(E) An application or combined application may be combined with a general rate proceeding application at the utility's option.

(F) The Office of Regulatory Staff shall safeguard the public interest in all matters arising under this article. It shall have full audit rights related to all matters arising under this article and shall review the reasonableness and necessity of all costs to be recovered under this article.

HISTORY: 2007 Act No. 16, SECTION 2, eff upon approval (became law without the Governor's signature on May 3, 2007).