© 2024 South Carolina Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

It's Been A Tumultuous Year Since The Abandonment Of The V.C. Summer Nuclear Reactor Project

V.C. Summer Units 2 and 3 Aerial View, Jan. 2017.
SCANA
V.C. Summer Units 2 and 3 Aerial View, Jan. 2017.

It was the first week of August, 2017 when then SCANA and SCE&G CEO Kevin Marsh told state regulators that the $9 Billion V.C. Summer Nuclear Reactor project was being scrapped before it could produce a single kilowatt of power. The magnitude of the action set off a tumultuous year that has left the futures of SCE&G and its partner in the project, state owned utility Santee-Cooper in doubt. The largest business failure in state history put thousands of construction workers out of work, and saw close to 3 million ratepayers in the state realize they were still paying for the failed project. The debacle forced new leadership at both utilities, and saw state lawmakers step in to try and sort out the mess. Also, state and federal criminal investigations are apparently still ongoing.

Russ McKinney has 30 years of experience in radio news and public affairs. He is a former broadcast news reporter in Spartanburg, Columbia and Atlanta. He served as Press Secretary to former S.C. Governor Dick Riley for two terms, and for 20 years was the chief public affairs officer for the University of South Carolina.