Nucor Steel v. South Carolina Public Service Commission

Toal, Justice:

This utility rate case arises from a circuit court order which reviewed a semiannual rate adjustment decision of the South Carolina Public Service Commission (PSC). We reverse in part and affirm in part.

FACTS

When a nuclear power plant is operated efficiently, the associated fuel costs are significantly less than the costs for fossil fuel power generation. When a nuclear power plant is not producing at capacity, or suffers any downtime, the additional fuel costs are then computed based on the cost differential between the different fuel types. Because of the fluctuation of fuel…