No excuse for secrecy
Charleston, South Carolina's The Post and Courier ran this editorial about the revelation of a secret report by Bechtel re: "one of the state’s costliest-ever economic disasters" -- the cancellation of two proposed new reactors, for which ratepayers had already been charged billions of dollars.
The editorial focuses on a report by Bechtel that the nuclear utilities building Summer Units 2 & 3 had denied even existed -- until they admitted its existence, under oath. But the utilities are still withholding the document they had previously lied did not exist, claiming trade secrecy, from the governor, state legislators, and other investigators.
In an incredible act of insubordination, one of the utilities, Santee Cooper, a state agency, has refused to provide the document even to the governor, whom it serves.
The editorial calls for transparency and accountability, given the billions of dollars of ratepayer money at stake.
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Related news coverage:
Southeast Energy News - South Carolina regulators may have been misled about failures at nuclear plant - Brye Steeves
- The State - SCE&G has a report critical of nuke project, but won't hand it over, SC agency says - Sammy Fretwell
- The State - McMaster sends 'formal demand' for nuclear project report to Santee Cooper - Jamie Self and Sammy Fretwell
- Utility Dive - SCE&G, Santee Cooper face more litigation over Summer nuclear project abandonment - Peter Maloney
- WSAV-TV Savannah, GA - Report: SC-owned utility paid bonuses for failed nuclear project - Kim Wade
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AP has obtained a "Privileged and Confidential" (that is, secret), related report.
The article is entitled "Newly-released report highlighted problems with South Carolina nuclear project a year before cancellation."
It begins:
COLUMBIA — A newly-released audit shows SCANA and Santee Cooper knew the effort to construct two nuclear reactors in Fairfield County was failing more than a year before the ambitious energy project was scrapped this July.
