This week saw the first round of one of the biggest decisions faced by the General Assembly in modern times: whether or not to sell the state-owned Santee Cooper utility company. This is a major decision worth billions of dollars. In addition to being a direct utility for some areas along the South Carolina coast, it is a major supplier of power to the state’s electric co-cops and owns the state’s two largest lakes: Lakes Marion and Moultrie.

This started with the introduction of House Bill 4940 , which was quickly passed by the House and sent to the Senate this week. This legislation will establish the formal framework by which three options will be considered: accept the best-qualified proposal to sell Santee Cooper to a privately-owned utility company, accept the best-qualified proposal Santee Cooper to be managed by privately-owned utility company or to keep Santee Cooper and attempt to reform the utility while keeping state ownership and management.

[READ ENTIRE ARTICLE]