South Carolina dodges a bullet with the EPA

The power generation industry in South Carolina has learned that the federal government has spared the state from requirements to reduce carbon emissions.  That exclusion, according to an official of one electric cooperative, is going to ensure that South Carolina gets to keep a competitive advantage that helps stabilize the cost of living in the South.  Factoring in the addition of some new nuclear generation units into a formula are benefiting South Carolina’s position, according to Terry Ballenger of the Pickens-based Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative.  Without the exclusion from the EPA, South Carolina was looking at millions of dollars in costs which, when filtered down to the power user, would have seriously jeopardized the region’s relatively stable cost of living.  Ballenger agrees with comments this month by the noted economist Bruce Yandle of Clemson that the stable cost of retail power has allowed the Char-lanta corridor to enjoy economic advantages not available in other parts of the country.