Opinion: How PSC has 'priced SC out' of the solar energy business

When I meet with constituents and discuss what’s good for South Carolina, it won’t surprise you that gainful employment and a strong economy rank among the top.

 In the Legislature, I’ve got a track record of working to protect jobs and making decisions intended to strengthen our economic investment prospects. Those are the primary reasons I voted for the Energy Freedom Act, and those are the primary reasons I’m taken aback by the actions of the SC Public Service Commission (PSC) last week.

While we’re significantly behind neighboring states when it comes to solar energy, as has been painfully pointed out in national news coverage over the past week, the passage of the Energy Freedom Act indicated we were turning a corner. The bill brought hope for an industry with great promise and potential in South Carolina.

Already, more than 3,000 people have jobs with the solar industry in our state. Already, hundreds of millions of dollars in investment from solar projects infuse our economy.

And those numbers were projected to increase astronomically. That is, until the SCPSC dealt its devastating blow.

As you’ve probably read, during a recent hearing, the PSC set a rate for solar that pays $21.43 per megawatt hour, the lowest price of any state in the country. Unfortunately, in this case, being the lowest isn’t anything to brag about. Just the opposite. We should be embarrassed.

Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia are paying $36-$40 per megawatt hour, so now we can expect our jobs and economic investment to go to those neighboring states whose rates represent much more equitable, market-based pricing.

The PSC has literally priced South Carolina out of the solar business and, in doing so, it also priced us out of good jobs.

And the PSC didn’t stop there. It set impractical contract terms, which is also a win for the utilities. We know all too well from the debacle of paying for an unbuilt nuclear plant that the utilities lock customers into paying for power plants in 20, 30 and 40-year time blocks. Utilities get the security of knowing that customers will pay all the costs for them via monthly power bills over those lengthy terms.

The equation is the same when building a solar “power plant,” but the PSC is certainly not treating solar the same. Prescriptive regulation biased toward certain energy sources and providers means South Carolina customers will never enjoy the perks that free markets can bring, not the least of which is lower power bills.

The PSC has acted in such a way that it essentially has “fixed” the market to operate in favor of the utilities. Its actions have created a burning platform for regulatory reform, and I intend to seize this as an opportunity for change.

Free markets are at the core of conservatism. (President) Ronald Reagan, in fact, famously talked about the “magic of the marketplace.” The “magic” that this conservative icon referenced is what happens when markets are allowed to work the way they were intended, free from the constraints of rigid regulation. That magic is the creativity and innovation that naturally springs when entities have to compete for the privilege of offering a product or service.

Now more than ever, it’s clear to me that we need a little of this magic in South Carolina to help us find a resolution to the position the PSC has put us in.

SC Rep. Bobby Cox, a Republican, represents District 21 in Greenville County in the SC House. He is a Citadel graduate and former Army Ranger.