Settlement agreement means major reduction in Dominion Energy’s bid to increase customers’ rates

COLUMBIA, S.C. –  Sierra Club and multiple partners in South Carolina have reached a settlement agreement that cuts Dominion Energy’s request to raise customers’ rates by 87 percent and gains a commitment from Dominion not to seek additional rate increases until January 2024 at the earliest.

In its application to increase rates, Dominion Energy sought approval to increase the average residential customer’s bill by $9.68. Per the settlement, the increase will instead be $1.29 on an average monthly residential bill. 

The utility also requested an overall revenue increase of $178 million and a return on equity of 10.25 percent. If approved by the Public Service Commission, the settlement agreement not only shrinks Dominion’s requested rate increase, but allows a net revenue increase of $35.6 million and a 9.5 percent return on equity.

Other benefits for customers include: 

• A fixed fee that remains under $10 for residential customers. The current fee is $9, and the settlement amount is $9.50. Keeping fixed fees low helps low-income communities manage their bills and rewards energy conservation;

• A clean slate for many customers who had fallen behind on their electricity bills;

• And new quarterly reports allowing for public transparency about Dominion's capital spending on coal plants.

Sierra Club intervened in the rate case and achieved this settlement agreement with groups including the Office of Regulatory Staff, the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs, AARP, the Department of Defense, the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, the South Carolina Energy Users Committee, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Walmart.

 In response, Will Harlan, senior representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign in the Carolinas, released the following statement:

“We hope this settlement will help ease the burden on families still struggling to regain their footing in the pandemic, and who’ve already been forced to pay billions to prop up Dominion’s polluting, money-wasting coal fleet. In the meantime, we’ll keep working alongside South Carolina communities for a 100% clean, equitable and affordable energy future that doesn’t require them to spend another hard-earned dime on dirty energy.”