Here’s how Santee Cooper is working to keep your bill from increasing
Myrtle Beach residents won’t see a change in their utility bill over the next five years as Santee Cooper looks to make a series of changes that will reduce debt and utilize more efficient energy resources.
Santee Cooper CEO Mark Bonsall presented a five-point plan to Myrtle Beach City Council on Tuesday that would introduce a “cleaner, greener” energy mix that will ultimately rid the utility’s 7.5 percent planned increase. Other changes will bring more efficient operations, along with debt reductions that will keep total customer prices stable for five years, he said.
“If you use more, you’ll pay more, and if you use less, you’ll pay less,” Bonsall said. “The per-unit price is going to stay stable, which is a substantial improvement from where we were talking a short while ago.”
To bring more efficient energy power to consumers, Bonsall said the state-run utility plans to close Winyah Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant near Georgetown, by 2027 and replace that power with 1,000 megawatts of solar power and natural gas, as needed for “reliability.”
Two of those units will close by 2023 and the other two will be shut down by 2027. While the closure will result in relocating or repurposing 200 jobs, Bonsall said the utility’s cleaner, greener generating mix will be more cost efficient, saving $90 million a year initially and $170 million a year after 2027.
“The beauty of that is the economics are favorable, as well,” Bonsall said. “This is a transition that not only affects a cleaner future, but a more economic future at the same time.”
Bonsall added that closing Winyah will reduce Santee Cooper’s reliance on coal by over 40 percent, asserting the addition of clean energy resources will lower the utility’s carbon emissions by about 30 percent over the next decade.
Bonsall said more advanced technology will be introduced, including 200 MW of battery storage that will improve “system reliability,” especially with a larger renewable footprint, he said. Smart meters will also be provided to customers in Myrtle Beach, along with a new energy management program that will allow customers to better manage their own energy use.
“This will have a favorable effect on our environmental footprint,” Bonsall said. “This will lead to much greater customer satisfaction.”
Additionally, the utility will allot $925 million in cash and other internal funds over the next two years to pay down debt, including $350 million in 2019 and $575 million in 2020 and 2021. Bonsall said the plan will reduce the company’s overall debt and shorten its payback time, noting that the total debt has reduced $1.4 billion from $8.2 billion since 2017.
City Manager John Pedersen said the utility’s plan for stabilization will have a “tremendous” impact on the city’s budget, along with the budget for the Grand Strand Sewer and Water Authority.
“This is very welcome news,” Pedersen said.
This story was originally published November 13, 2019 at 3:02 PM.
