Failed S.C. nuke plant draws U.S. probe

Scana Corp., which had sought to charge customers $4.9 billion to help pay for its canceled V.C. Summer nuclear power project in South Carolina, has received a federal subpoena for documents related to the plant.

The subpoena by the U.S. attorney’s office in South Carolina requires the electricity provider to “produce a broad range of documents related to the project,” Scana said Thursday in a statement.

The company said it intends to cooperate with the investigation.

Scana and its state-owned utility partner, Santee Cooper, halted construction on two reactors at the Summer plant after costs ballooned to over $20 billion.

That decision was opposed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, who said the reactors are still worth finishing.

Scana in August withdrew a request to recover $4.9 billion of abandonment costs to give state officials time to review the decision to cancel the project.

The subpoena “throws another monkey wrench into the recovery process,” Kit Konolige, a New York-based analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, said by phone Thursday.

Eric Boomhower, a Scana spokesman, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking additional comment. U.S. Attorney Beth Drake declined to comment on Scana’s statement or confirm the subpoenas, referring questions to First Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Crick, who didn’t return phone calls.