Does the South Carolina PSC secretly approve rate hikes?

By Rick Brundrett | The Nerve

From May 2005 through Oct. 30, 2013, the South Carolina Public Service Commission raised the average electric bill for SCE&G residential customers 21 times.

From October 2005 through Jan. 1, the average bill for Duke Energy Carolinas residential customers using the same amount of electricity (1,000 kilowatt hours per month) was raised 14 times, The Nerve found in a review of rates published by the state Office of Regulatory Staff.

For the period, the increases in average monthly bills for each of the two large utilities totaled more than 20 percent above inflation.

The Public Service Commission is a seven-member panel elected by the General Assembly and screened by a legislatively controlled committee. It regulates investor-owned utilities, including the setting of utility rates for residential and business customers.

at The Nerve.