The procedures contained in this section shall apply to monitoring reports related to the quarter ending December 31. (1) The utility shall file the monitoring reports annually with the commission and Office of Regulatory Staff on or before March 15. (2) In cases where the monitoring report indicates rate adjustments are required, or where it otherwise appears to the commission or the Office of Regulatory Staff that an adjustment in rates may be warranted under this article, the commission shall issue a Notice of Filing annually on or before March 31 and require interested persons to file a petition to intervene annually on or before May 15. The commission shall maintain a register of parties who have notified the commission in writing that they wish to be provided with any Notice of Filing related to specified utilities and the commission shall use reasonable efforts to provide such parties with Notices of Filing by such utilities, provided that the failure to do so shall not invalidate any subsequent proceedings. Intervenors shall have discovery rights related to the matters set forth in Section 58-27-2730. (3) The Office of Regulatory Staff shall conduct an audit of the monitoring report to ascertain the reasonableness and prudency of all matters contained therein and specify any changes that the Office of Regulatory Staff determines to be necessary to correct errors in the report or to otherwise bring the report into compliance with this article. The Office of Regulatory Staff's audit report shall be verified and provided to the commission and to the utility and made available annually to all parties of record no later than June 1. Other parties of record shall also be allowed until June 1 of each year to file verified written comments and submit documentary evidence to the commission and the Office of Regulatory Staff in response to the utility's monitoring report. (4) The utility shall be allowed until June 15 of each year to file verified written comments and submit documentary evidence to the commission and the Office of Regulatory Staff related to the utility's monitoring report and may request a non-evidentiary hearing before the commission concerning the utility's monitoring report. (5) On or before July 15 of each year, the commission shall issue an initial order setting forth any changes required in the utility's request to adjust rates under this article (the "Initial Order"). In the absence of such an Initial Order, the electric rate adjustment contained in the utility's filing shall be considered granted as filed. (6) Any electric rate adjustments authorized under the terms of this article shall take effect for all bills rendered on or after the first billing cycle of August of that year. Editor's Note 2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 1, provides as follows: "SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the 'South Carolina Energy Security Act.' " 2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 33, provides as follows: "SECTION 33. (A) To foster economic development and future jobs in this State resulting from the supply chains associated with the same while supporting the significant and growing energy and capacity needs of the State, enhance grid resiliency, and maintain reliability, the General Assembly finds that the State of South Carolina should take steps necessary to encourage the development of a diverse mix of long-lead, clean generation resources that may include nuclear and advanced nuclear, biomass as defined in Section 12-63-20(B)(2) of the S.C. Code, hydrogen-capable resources, fusion energy, and other technologies, and should preserve the option of efficiency development of such long-lead resources with timely actions to establish or maintain eligibility for or capture available tax or other financial incentives or address operational needs. "(B) For an electrical utility to capture available tax or other financial or operational incentives for South Carolina ratepayers in a timely manner, the commission may find that actions by an electrical utility in pursuit of the directives in Section 58-37-35(A) are in the public interest, provided that the commission determines that such proposed actions are in the public interest and reasonably balance economic development and industry retention benefits, capacity expansion benefits, resource adequacy and diversification and potential risks, costs, and benefits to ratepayers and otherwise comply with all other legal requirements applicable to the electrical utility's proposed action. For the South Carolina Public Service Authority, the Office of Regulatory Staff and the Public Service Authority's board of directors shall apply the same principles described in this subsection in evaluating and approving actions proposed by the management of the Public Service Authority to achieve the objectives of this section." 2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 41, provides as follows: "SECTION 41. (A) Five years after the effective date of this act, the Office of the Regulatory Staff shall prepare a report, to be filed with the Public Utilities Review Committee and the General Assembly, to address the implementation of Article 24, Chapter 27, Title 58 as it relates to the following areas: "(1) assessing the functioning of the procedures established by section with recommendation for any changes required to ensure their efficient functioning, to promote regulatory efficiency, and to make further the establishment of just, reasonable, and fair rates; "(2) assessing the effect of rates on ratepayers of all classes; "(3) assessing the reliability of the electric system and whether investments made by electric utilities increased reliability compared to any change in electric utility rates experienced by ratepayers within the same timeframe; and "(4) any other information requested by the General Assembly to be included within the report. "(B) The Office of Regulatory Staff may engage a qualified, independent third party to assist in preparation of the report. "(C) All expenses and charges incurred by the Office of Regulatory Staff in the performance of its duties within this section may be defrayed by assessments made by the Comptroller General against the regulated electrical utilities regulated and based upon twenty-five percent of the gross revenues collected by such electrical utilities from their business done wholly within this State in the manner set out in Section 58-4-60 for other corporations." 2025 Act No. 41, SECTION 42, provides as follows: "SECTION 42. Upon passage of this act, Dominion Energy shall evaluate the process for converting the Wateree Generating Station from coal-fired generation to biomass-fired generation. Biomass-fired generation includes, but is not limited to, generation from the firing of wood pellets and wood chips. Dominion Energy must make a report concerning the conversion process to the Public Service Commission and General Assembly by no later than January 13, 2026."
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