S Carolina's state-owned utility survives as public company

South Carolina’s state-owned utility appears to have survived four years of turmoil to remain public

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina’s state-owned utility appears to have survived four years of turmoil to remain public after the South Carolina House and Senate both unanimously approved an overhaul bill Tuesday that does not include its sale to a private company. Santee Cooper's future has been uncertain since July 2017, when construction of a pair of nuclear reactors in which the utility was a minority partner stopped before completion, leaving the company billions of dollars in debt. Republican Gov. Henry McMaster and several powerful legislators, especially in the House, almost immediately demanded the sale of Santee Cooper to a private company, saying South Carolina should not be in the power business. But there were powerful allies on the other side who recalled how the founding of Santee Cooper as a public utility during the Great Depression brought power to wide swaths of rural South Carolina. They also noted the state-owned company's willingness to do whatever top officials asked to bring big industry to the state.