ANGER ABOUNDS …
It doesn’t take a nuclear physicist to determine that South Carolinians are furious over #NukeGate – a recently abandoned bid to build a pair of nuclear reactors in Jenkinsville, S.C.
They should be, too …
State-owned utility Santee Cooper’s controversial decision to pull the plug on the V.C. Summer nuclear power plant two-and-a-half weeks ago killed an estimated 5,600 jobs, squandered billions of dollars in investment, threw the state’s energy future into chaos, cost Santee Cooper its credit rating and prompted a class action lawsuit against SCANA, the private sector utility that had been partnering with Santee Cooper on the project.
Also, politicians who permitted SCANA to “socialize” billions of dollars in investment risk related to V.C. Summer find themselves in the line of fire – which they are attempting to dodge via all manner of bluster and political chicanery.
Is it working? No …
According to a poll taken earlier this month, 60 percent of Palmetto State residents disapprove of how “South Carolina regulators and elected officials (provided) oversight on the Fairfield County nuclear project.”
Only 22 percent approved, while 17 percent were unsure.
Moreover, a whopping 83 percent of residents said the utilities which were allowed to raise rates to subsidize this project “should be required to reimburse their customers for the money that they have already contributed.”
Only 13 percent said “no” to that question, while four percent were unsure.
The survey in question was conducted between August 5-7 by The Tarrance Group, an Alexandria, Virginia-based firm. Its sample size was 500 registered voters, and the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
Do we buy the results?
Yes … although it’s worth pointing out the survey was conducted for a dubious pro-solar group that has a vested interest in the outcome of this particular debate.
Stay tuned … we expect to see more concrete numbers emerging on this issue in the weeks and months to come. Also, as we’ve pointed out previously we suspect this issue could become electorally fatal for those politicians who supported the subsidization of this project in the first place.
As well as those who failed to stop it when they had the chance.
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