SCANA doesn't want to maintain its abandoned nuclear reactors, saying they're worth more as a tax...

SCANA doesn't want to maintain its abandoned nuclear reactors, saying they're worth more as a tax write-off

Lawmakers and utility watchdogs want to button up South Carolina's two unfinished nuclear power plants, keeping the $9 billion investments ready to restart or sell if the project's fortunes improve.

But SCANA Corp., the project's majority owner, doesn't want to maintain the unfinished nuclear reactors at V.C. Summer Nuclear Station. The company says they're worth more rusting away in the Fairfield County soil.

The investor-owned utility is reluctant to upkeep the reactors because the company wants to cash in on federal tax write-offs that could shave billions of dollars off the final price. SCANA's executives say it makes more sense to abandon the reactors altogether than wait for a buyer to emerge.

The financial maneuvering, which SCANA floated this week, could put SCANA at odds with Santee Cooper, its partner on the project. In a letter he wrote Thursday, Santee Cooper chief James Brogdon Jr. vowed to protect the project's "value and viability" by preserving equipment at the site.

Read more: http://www.postandcourier.com/business/scana-doesn-t-want-to-maintain-its-abandoned-nuclear-reactors/article_12737612-bb43-11e7-aca3-1b8ccf08a806.html