P&C: Legislation proposes state energy overhaul

February 19, 2008 by senatormcconnell

While South Carolina has traditionally lagged behind its neighbors in modern energy standards, one of the state’s leading conservationists called a group of energy proposals unveiled Wednesday “a great moment of awakening.”

Dana Beach, executive director of the Charleston-based Coastal Conservation League, stood beside representatives from the state’s utilities and electric co-ops as Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell outlined the legislative package that seeks to make the state more energy-efficient and more reliant on renewable sources.

The bills would create a nonprofit organization to help poor residents make their homes more energy- efficient, doing so through private dollars and grants; offer a sales tax exemption and a $750 rebate for the purchase of an energy-efficient manufactured home; push state agencies to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent by 2020 and require the agencies to use 10 percent of its energy through renewable sources by 2025, among other considerations.

“Some of us who are old enough can remember the ’70s and the shortage of gas and the question of where are we going with an energy policy in this country, and here we are some 35 years later and the state of South Carolina is facing an uncertain future,” said McConnell, R-Charleston.

“We are taking the first steps in what we hope is the beginning of a plan to conserve energy resources, protect the environment, educate the public and encourage energy efficiency.”

McConnell said he worked with the various stakeholders and hoped to give the legislation priority in the Senate to send it over to the House in time for it to become law before the Legislature adjourns this summer. Only one of the bills — creating the nonprofit through the state Office of Regulatory Staff — was filed Wednesday. The others are forthcoming.

The proposals would go a long way in South Carolina, which ranks as the fourth least efficient state in the nation, Beach said, and while the state has inexpensive energy, homeowners have some of the country’s highest electric bills.

Rather than find shortcomings in the proposals, Beach said he was pleased to use them as a starting point.

“It’s a new era for South Carolina,” Beach said.

Elsewhere in the country, states are developing modest to ambitious renewable portfolio standards that serve as important policy drivers, said Glen Andersen, who is principal of the energy program for the National Conference of State Legislatures.

South Carolina does not have a portfolio, according to Andersen. North Carolina’s portfolio, for example, allows 25 percent of the state’s renewable energy standards to be met through energy-efficiency measures.

S.C. Rep. Ben Hagood, R-Sullivan’s Island, said as a big driver of environmentally friendly legislation he supports the direction of the Senate proposals and expects them to be well-received in the House. He said, though, one sticking point could be the cost of implementation, which wasn’t available Wednesday.

Hagood serves on the governor’s Climate, Energy and Commerce Advisory Committee that was formed in February 2007 to study related issues. The advisory committee is scheduled to release its findings and recommendations in July, and Hagood said he wants to see the Legislature use those recommendations to build on any legislation that passes before summer adjournment.

Nikki Seibert, green building coordinator for Sea Island Habitat for Humanity and a master’s candidate at the College of Charleston, said in her work with low-income residents, she sees the Senate legislation proposed Wednesday that addresses homeowners as a “crucial first step.”

“Every penny they are saving is helping out exponentially,” Seibert said of poorer residents who spend a greater percentage of their income on energy costs.

McConnell said he addressed manufactured homes specifically because they tend to be the least energy-efficient structures, and they make up 22 percent of the housing served by the state electric co-ops. Also, the people who own manufactured homes are often the ones who can least afford the strain of a high electric bill, he said.

“I think what we have outlined is a quantum leap into the 21st century in making sure South Carolina has a secure, affordable and available power supply,” McConnell said.

Reach Yvonne Wenger at ywenger@postandcourier.com or 803-799-9051.

Published in Post and Courier
BY YVONNE WENGER (CONTACT)
The Post and Courier
Thursday, February 7, 2008

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