South Carolina’s state-owned utility is retiring six of its power-generating units. It marks the first time that Santee-Cooper has retired one of its plants since it began generating electricity 70 years ago.
Jefferies Generating Station (Courtesy: Santee-Cooper)
The Santee Cooper board on Friday voted to authorize the retirement of two coal-powered and two oil-powered generating units at the Jefferies Generating Station in Moncks Corner. It also voted to permanently shutter the Grainger Generating Station in Conway, which had already been idled earlier this year. The Jefferies Hydroelectric Station will not be affected, the agency says.
“As we evaluated the anticipated costs of complying with new regulations and the generation resources we anticipate needing, it became clear that the best action for our customers and the state is to authorize the retirement of these units at Jefferies and Grainger,” Board Chairman O.L. Thompson said in a statement. “It is not a decision we make lightly. However, it is the most cost-effective move we can make.”
The utility says it does not expect to lay off any of its employees and plans to relocate those affected to other positions “made available through attrition.” There is no timetable yet for the unit retirements, although Grainger’s units were idled in the spring.
