SCANA

SCANA Corporation was a regulated electric and natural gas utility holding company headquartered in Cayce, South Carolina, near Columbia. Its principal operating subsidiary was South Carolina Electric & Gas Company, or SCE&G, which generated, transmitted, distributed, and sold electricity and purchased, transported, and sold natural gas. Through other subsidiaries, SCANA also operated natural-gas businesses in Georgia and North Carolina and, for periods of time, held pipeline, communications, petroleum, propane, and other non-core assets. The company’s corporate lineage extended back to Charleston Gas Light Company, formed in 1846 by Charleston business leaders. Its later corporate structure developed through Broad River Power Company, established in 1924. Broad River acquired the electric and gas properties of Columbia Railway, Gas and Electric Company in 1925 and adopted the name South Carolina Electric & Gas Company in 1937. SCE&G expanded through acquisitions and infrastructure development, including the 1942 purchase of Lexington Water Power Company, whose Saluda Dam created Lake Murray. In 1948, it acquired South Carolina Power Company, the successor to Charleston Gas Light Company. In 1984, SCE&G reorganized under SCANA as a holding company. The group’s main business remained regulated utility service, but it also pursued diversification. It sold SCANA Petroleum Resources in 1997 and its retail propane assets in 1999, acquired Public Service of North Carolina in 2000, and expanded its natural-gas customer base in Georgia in 2004. Later divestitures included Carolina Gas Transmission, sold to Dominion Resources in 2015, and SCANA Communications, sold to Spirit Communications that same year. SCANA’s defining late-period event was the failure of the V.C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station expansion in South Carolina. SCE&G and the South Carolina Public Service Authority had been developing two additional AP1000 reactors. After Westinghouse Electric Company entered bankruptcy, escalating costs and schedule problems led SCE&G to abandon the two units in July 2017 after approximately $9 billion had been spent on construction. The decision triggered investigations, litigation, intense political scrutiny, and the Nukegate scandal. Investors and customers challenged the recovery of nuclear-project costs through rates, while regulators and public officials questioned disclosures, management decisions, and the treatment of ratepayers. The nuclear failure severely damaged SCANA’s financial position and reputation. SCE&G proposed replacing the abandoned nuclear capacity with natural-gas and solar generation, while reducing customer charges toward pre-project levels and assigning a substantial portion of the losses to shareholders. SCANA subsequently sold the Columbia Energy Center in 2018 and agreed to be acquired by Dominion Energy. The acquisition closed in January 2019, and the SCANA, SCE&G, and PSNC names were retired by March 2019. SCANA therefore survives primarily as a historical corporate and utility brand rather than as an operating company.

SCANA’s historical roots reach back to Charleston Gas Light Company, established in 1846 by business leaders in Charleston, South Carolina. The corporate structure that eventually became SCANA developed more directly from Broad River Power Company, formed in 1924. In 1925, Broad River acquired the electric and gas properties of Columbia Railway, Gas and Electric Company. The company changed its name to South Carolina Electric & Gas Company in 1937, creating the operating identity that remained central to the later holding-company group. SCE&G expanded its infrastructure and service territory through acquisitions. In 1942, it acquired Lexington Water Power Company, which had constructed Saluda Dam. The dam created Lake Murray and became a major component of the company’s hydroelectric system. In 1948, SCE&G acquired South Carolina Power Company, the successor to Charleston Gas Light Company, from Southern Company. These transactions consolidated significant electric and gas assets in the state and strengthened SCE&G’s role as a major South Carolina utility. In 1984, SCE&G reorganized as a holding company named SCANA Corporation. SCE&G remained its principal regulated utility subsidiary, while SCANA provided a broader corporate structure for energy-related and communications businesses. The company later pursued selective diversification and divestiture. SCANA Petroleum Resources was sold in 1997, and the company disposed of its retail propane assets in 1999. In February 2000, SCANA acquired Public Service of North Carolina, which became known as PSNC Energy. In 2004, it acquired approximately 50,000 retail natural-gas customers formerly served by Energy America in Georgia. The group also developed and later sold infrastructure businesses outside its core regulated utility operations. Carolina Gas Transmission, an interstate natural-gas pipeline serving South Carolina and Georgia, was sold to Dominion Resources in February 2015. SCANA Communications, which operated fiber-optic networks, data-center, tower, and colocation services in the Carolinas and Georgia, was sold to Spirit Communications later that month. SCANA’s most consequential strategic undertaking was the planned expansion of the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station. SCE&G pursued two additional AP1000 units with the South Carolina Public Service Authority. The project experienced substantial delays and cost escalation, and Westinghouse Electric Company’s bankruptcy made completion more difficult. In July 2017, after roughly $9 billion had been spent, SCE&G abandoned construction of both reactors. The decision produced the Nukegate scandal, a severe loss of investor confidence, lawsuits by investors and ratepayers, and investigations by state and federal authorities. SCE&G proposed replacing the lost nuclear capacity with natural-gas and solar generation. It also proposed reducing customer charges toward pre-project levels while having shareholders absorb significant abandoned-project costs. The controversy reshaped the company’s regulatory position and damaged the value and reputation of SCANA. In May 2018, SCANA acquired the Columbia Energy Center in Gaston, South Carolina. The company was then acquired by Dominion Energy in January 2019. By March 2019, the SCANA, SCE&G, and PSNC names had been retired, ending SCANA’s existence as an independent corporate brand.

• 2019

  Dominion Energy acquires SCANA

  [1]SCANAen.wikipedia.org

  Dominion Energy acquired SCANA, and the SCANA, SCE&G, and PSNC names were retired soon afterward.

• 2018

  Columbia Energy Center is acquired

  [1]SCANAen.wikipedia.org

  SCANA acquired the Columbia Energy Center in Gaston, South Carolina.

• 2017

  V.C. Summer expansion is abandoned

  [1]SCANAen.wikipedia.org

  SCE&G abandoned two additional AP1000 reactors after the project suffered major cost, schedule, and financing problems.

• 2015

  Pipeline and communications businesses are divested

  [1]SCANAen.wikipedia.org

  SCANA sold Carolina Gas Transmission to Dominion Resources and SCANA Communications to Spirit Communications.

• 2000

  Public Service of North Carolina is acquired

  [1]SCANAen.wikipedia.org

  SCANA acquired the North Carolina natural-gas utility that operated as PSNC Energy.

• 1984

  SCANA holding company is created

  [1]SCANAen.wikipedia.org

  SCE&G reorganized under SCANA Corporation as a holding company.

• 1942

  Lexington Water Power Company is acquired

  [1]SCANAen.wikipedia.org

  The acquisition added the Saluda Dam and associated hydroelectric assets to the company’s system.

• 1937

  The operating company becomes South Carolina Electric & Gas

  [1]SCANAen.wikipedia.org

  Broad River Power Company adopted the South Carolina Electric & Gas Company name.

• 1925

  Broad River acquires Columbia utility properties

  [1]SCANAen.wikipedia.org

  Broad River acquired the electric and gas properties of Columbia Railway, Gas and Electric Company.

• 1924

  Broad River Power Company is established

  [1]SCANAen.wikipedia.org

  Broad River Power Company was created as the corporate predecessor of the later South Carolina utility structure.

• 1846

  Charleston Gas Light Company is formed

  [1]SCANAen.wikipedia.org

  A group of Charleston business leaders formed the gas company that became the earliest recorded predecessor in SCANA’s corporate lineage.

A regional regulated utility holding company centered on electricity and natural gas service in the southeastern United States. SCANA combined a long-established South Carolina utility franchise with natural-gas operations in Georgia and North Carolina, but its later identity became closely associated with the unsuccessful V.C. Summer nuclear expansion and the resulting regulatory and legal crisis.

• Regulated electricity utility

  SCE&G electricity service

  South Carolina Electric & Gas generated, transmitted, distributed, and sold electricity in South Carolina. Its generation portfolio included hydroelectric stations, coal-fired plants, nuclear generation at the existing Virgil C. Summer unit, combined-cycle and simple-cycle natural-gas facilities, and a repowered former coal plant. The company served approximately 719,000 electric customers across 24 South Carolina counties before the Dominion transaction.

• Regulated natural-gas utility

  SCE&G natural-gas service

  SCE&G purchased, transported, distributed, and sold natural gas throughout South Carolina. Its service area covered all 35 counties in the state and included approximately 368,000 customers before the business was integrated into Dominion Energy’s operating structure.

• Natural-gas marketing

  SCANA Energy

  SCANA Energy marketed natural gas in Georgia and was described as the state’s second-largest marketer. It also operated a regulated division selected by the Georgia Public Service Commission to serve as Georgia’s regulated natural-gas provider.

• Regulated natural-gas utility · 2000

  PSNC Energy

  PSNC Energy, formerly Public Service of North Carolina, purchased, transported, distributed, and sold natural gas in North Carolina. It served approximately 563,000 customers across 28 counties and a service area of about 12,000 square miles before the SCANA acquisition by Dominion Energy.

• 2017

  Nukegate and the V.C. Summer expansion failure

  The abandonment of two AP1000 reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station after approximately $9 billion in construction spending led to lawsuits, investigations, regulatory intervention, and widespread criticism of project management, cost recovery, and disclosures to investors and customers.

  Source

Read more

• 2019

  Sale of SCANA to Dominion EnergyM&A

  Background

  SCANA’s weakened position after the nuclear-project failure contributed to the company’s transition from an independent public utility holding company to an acquisition target.

  Action taken

  Dominion Energy acquired SCANA in January 2019 and integrated its utility operations.

  Aftermath

  SCANA ceased to exist as an independent company, and the SCANA, SCE&G, and PSNC names were retired by March 2019.

  Source

• 2017

  Abandonment of two V.C. Summer reactorsStrategy

  Background

  The planned AP1000 expansion faced severe delays and cost escalation, and Westinghouse Electric Company entered bankruptcy during the project.

  Action taken

  SCE&G abandoned construction of the two additional reactors and began considering replacement capacity based on natural gas and solar generation.

  Aftermath

  The decision triggered the Nukegate scandal, litigation, regulatory investigations, and a major deterioration in SCANA’s financial and reputational position.

  Reported construction spending before abandonment. Approximately $9 billion spent (By July 2017)

  Source

• 2017

  Proposal to replace abandoned nuclear capacityStrategy

  Background

  After ending the V.C. Summer expansion, SCE&G needed to address the expected loss of planned generating capacity and the impact of the failed project on customer rates.

  Action taken

  SCE&G proposed a replacement portfolio combining natural-gas and solar generation, while proposing lower customer charges and greater shareholder responsibility for abandoned nuclear-project costs.

  Aftermath

  The proposal became part of continuing disputes among the company, regulators, lawmakers, customers, and litigants over cost allocation and rate relief.

  Source

1. 1SCANAen.wikipedia.org