COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The South Carolina Senate on Thursday started its homework assignment of coming up with a comprehensive bill to guide energy policy in a rapidly growing state and amid a quickly changing power- generation world.

The Special Committee on South Carolina’s Energy Future is scheduled to hold several meetings throughout October. On Thursday, the committee received presentations from the leaders of the state's three major utility companies. Future meetings will include participation from regular ratepayers, environmental advocates, business leaders, and experts in the latest electricity generation technologies.

The Senate assumed responsibility for this task. They halted a comprehensive energy overhaul bill exceeding 80 pages, which had been passed by the House in March within a period of less than six weeks. Ultimately, the bill failed to advance at the end of the legislative session.

Many senators expressed their belief that the process earlier this year was rushed . They recalled the last occasion when they placed their trust in an overhaul bill backed by utility companies.

Publicly owned Santee Cooper and privately held South Carolina Electric & Gas invoked regulations passed 15 years ago to impose costs on ratepayers for billions of dollars spent on two new nuclear reactors that never produced any power before construction was halted due to escalating costs.

However, these stark memories are intertwined with equally alarming forecasts of the state facing an energy shortage.

Unusually frigid temperatures on Christmas Eve 2022, combined with issues at a power generation facility, nearly resulted in rolling blackouts in South Carolina. The demand for electricity from advanced manufacturing and data centers is on the rise. If electric vehicles gain popularity, the need for power will increase further. And, with a state that has added 1.3 million residents since 2000, there is a significant rise in air conditioners, washing machines, and device charging, according to utility executives.

Senators interrupted Duke Energy's South Carolina president, Mike Callahan, mid-presentation after he informed them that his utility's latest projections for electricity consumption growth over the rest of this decade were eight times higher than they were just two years ago.

“Growth is evident, and even more is on the horizon. We require a clear energy policy to plan for this expansion,” Callahan stated.

The utility executives informed senators that their companies need clarity on what types of power sources — natural gas, solar, nuclear, wind, or others — the state intends to prioritize. They would also appreciate consistent regulations from regulators on how they operate.

“A decisive no is far preferable to us than an extended period of uncertainty,” remarked Santee Cooper CEO Jimmy Staton.

Another complicating factor is federal regulations that may mandate utilities to decommission coal-fired power plants before alternative energy sources are fully operational, Staton explained.

Others are not convinced that the state necessitates a rapid surge in power generation. Environmental advocates have suggested that the 2022 power outages were exacerbated by the fact that power plants were far from operating at full capacity and that better grid coordination would facilitate the efficient distribution of electricity to where it is needed.

Those less enthusiastic about the overhaul are also urging the state to refrain from committing to a single power source over another, as technological advancements could potentially leave South Carolina with an excessive amount of power generation through inefficient methods.

There will likely be considerable discussion regarding data centers, which consume substantial amounts of electricity without generating the same level of job creation, property tax revenue, or other benefits that a manufacturing facility provides.

Staton estimated that approximately 70% of the increase in Santee Cooper's energy demand is attributed to data centers.

“We clearly need them. I don't want to go back in time,” committee chair Republican Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said. “What I'm trying to understand is how much of the projected growth is based on data centers and how much is based on other factors.”

Massey aims to have a bill ready by the start of the 2025 legislative session in January.