Representatives from the SC Office of Regulatory Staff's Energy Office (ORS) and the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control's Bureau of Air Quality (DHEC) held a public engagement session in Florence on Thursday evening. The event, which drew members of the general public as well as representatives from Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Progress, and local environmental groups, was the first in a series of public input meetings focusing on planning for South Carolina's energy future. The ORS is currently working on a comprehensive state energy plan, which will address South Carolina's energy use and growth for the next 15 years in the power generation and transportation sectors. The state energy plan is being developed alongside DHEC's clean power plan for the state as mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
On June 25, 2013, the White House announced President Obama's Climate Action Plan. This Climate Plan focused on three major efforts: cut carbon pollution in America, prepare the Unites States for the impacts of climate change, and lead international efforts to combat global climate change. At the direction of President Obama, on August 3, 2015, the EPA released the final rule on the Clean Power Plan for existing power plants [under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act]. The final Clean Power Plan requires each state to develop its own plan for reducing carbon emissions, which has to be submitted within three years. S.C. DHEC is currently reviewing the final rule documents and will determine the next steps based on this initial review.
Three additional public input meetings are scheduled through November and early December in Charleston, Greenville, and Columbia. For more information about those upcoming meetings, click here.
To view the presentation from the Florence public meeting, click here.