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Thread: Nuclear power

  1. #1
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    Default Nuclear power

    In the aftermath of the failure to complete the reactors I want to express my views and hear from you.

    First no rate payers should pay for something they are not getting. I have learned SCE&G customers are paying 18% of the bills toward nuclear power they may never see.

    2nd The legislature was sold on the idea that rate payers would save money since they would not have to pay as much for bonding. Mathematically that is true but only with completion within the original budget. The legislative change caused a shift of risk from the generator to the consumer. The bill slid through both chambers without much discussion.

    I now believe the risk shift allowed the power companies to get sloppy. Now, their shareholders were not at risk, you were. You see, they make profit off of the book value not operations and management. Their rate of return is rewarded by cost overruns.

    SCANA's project manager had to have known they were paying too much for incomplete work. I do not believe they just blindly paid invoices. The project manager, the CEO, the CFO had to have known. The legislature will have to subpoena records to investigate who else knew. Board of Directors? Commissioners? You simply can't spend 9 billion of an 11 billion dollar project and wake up one morning wondering if the project is out of hand.

    Westinghouse far underbid the cost. They will declare bankruptcy leaving the rate payer holding the bag. No nuclear energy plants have been constructed in 35 years. That made the decision to use nuclear energy for fuel more risky and without cost comparisons.

    Nuclear energy may still be the best option. Failure most likely dooms nuclear generation for many years to come. We may require federal help to save this endeavor.

    Duke may be the only local bidder. They need generation and want customers. Unfortunately, the estimated price tag to finish does not make financial sense.

    The Governor needs to negotiate. Santee Cooper may be on the chopping block. We can sell the Santee customer base. Their rates are too high now and are stifling growth in the region. Their rates should be lower since they don't pay state or federal taxes, local property taxes, or dividends.

    We can split up the generation and sell to other companies.

    WE must keep Lake Marion and Moultrie. Our natural resources should not be for sale.

    Legislation will need crafting.

    Rates must come down for those paying more than they should.

    SCE&G management and shareholders must pay a price.
    Last edited by Duck Tape; 08-11-2017 at 06:52 PM.
    Either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing.

  2. #2
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    Default

    You are welcome...

  3. #3
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    You 2 in the same thread. Did y'all ever decide to send me some scducks swag?

  4. #4
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    DT, I think you've summed it up pretty well from what I understand of the deal. This should be a case study of the economic phenomenon known as "moral hazard."

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by JABIII View Post
    You are welcome...
    My man
    Btw, you won't hear me apologize often, so you may want to put that in your sigfile. ~Mergie

  6. #6
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    Feb 2004
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    SCE&G and their leaders (and the shareholders) appear to be protected from any responsibility by the Base Load Review Act from '07. The ratepayers WILL shoulder the burden long after I'm dead and gone.

    5000 jobs weren't the only ones lost, the trickle down impact hasn't yet been fully realized.

    NW White and other trucking companies have been hauling rock, gravel, sand, etc up that way for years. How has it affected them? Loss of jobs, etc.

    My neighbor works for a big equipment rental company. 250 pieces of equipment are sitting on site up there. He's lost 75% of his annual income.

    An SCE&G client of mine closed on a $225,000 home here in Chapin. He started work on July 31st, worked 4 hours and they "abandoned the project". My thought is that SCE&G should be liable for giving a verification of employment to the bank a week and a half before and then abandoning the project the first day an employee started his job.

    The fallout from this also reaches beyond South Carolina, we just haven't heard about all of it yet.
    Listen to your elders. Not because they are always right but because they have more experiences of being wrong.

    "We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give" Sir Winston Churchill

  7. #7
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    What do you anticipate being the outcome?

    I'm asking seriously.

    Do you believe they will actually pay up or after some grilling come up with a public apology and move along?

    I like the plan, but seems like a awful lot of moving parts.
    Yup, he's crazy...


    like a fox. The dude may be coming in a little too hard and crazy but 90% of everything he says is correct.

    Sort of like Toof. But way smarter.
    ~Scatter Shot

  8. #8
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    Worse is the word you are looking for Cajun. It is going to get worse...

  9. #9
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    Keep us posted. Always looking for a good entry point into a utility stock.

    One man's junk is another man's treasure...
    Last edited by jasonw; 08-12-2017 at 09:53 AM.

  10. #10
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    Flip side of the coin. You are a high school dropout. Got your GED. You are collecting 60 hours a week on your paycheck and clearing a healthy 6 figure salary for mid tier trade work. At what point do you tell yourself- this is to good to be true?

    Is one too jaded to know that the bubble had to burst one day?

    Shaw made a mint when they sold to CBI. CBI got their lick as well. Westinghouse is holding the bag for others' mismanagement and is paying the price along with Toshiba.

    In my eyes theire are 5000 ruined trade workers that are used to getting something for nothing and are no longer employable in the current job market. Before you feel too bad for the workers, ask them where the 750k to 1 million dollars in payroll that they brought home over the last 6 years has gone to.

  11. #11
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    I am still laughing about the crying for the little banty rooster at NWW...

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by kquinn View Post

    In my eyes there are 5000 ruined trade workers that are used to getting something for nothing and are no longer employable in the current job market. Before you feel too bad for the workers, ask them where the 750k to 1 million dollars in payroll that they brought home over the last 6 years has gone to.
    This right here is spot on. Most of these cats think they are worth what they were being paid up there. I can't even tell you how many I have spoken with since they were all laid off, 90% completely ruined. "But I was making $xx up there", yep and that's why you are longer up there. Welcome back to the real world.

  13. #13
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  14. #14
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    Cost overruns were not due to skill labor. They paid high blue collar wages because they did not use illegal laborers and had to attract workers from across the nation. The skilled laborers will land on other large sites across the country. It is what they do. A job being temporary is what most of those workere are accustomed to.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

  15. #15
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    Just a little bump in oil prices, which feels close, will see them through. The drought in NoDak will be a blessing...

  16. #16
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    An SCE&G client of mine closed on a $225,000 home here in Chapin. He started work on July 31st, worked 4 hours and they "abandoned the project". My thought is that SCE&G should be liable for giving a verification of employment to the bank a week and a half before and then abandoning the project the first day an employee started his job.[/QUOTE]

    Well that was stupid as fuck for the bank to loan that kind of money to someone just starting a job. Don't most companies work you on a probationary period for 6 months to a year to make sure you are cut out for the work they hired tour for? That is reckless loaning money to people without "stable" employment.

  17. #17
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    Are you seriously impugning the same banking industry that gave us Mack Whittle?

  18. #18
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    Yessirrr! As soon as we have a slight trend in economic recovery.....back to funny lending practices. The feds love making these bubbles. Student loans, mortgages, anything they are involved with.

  19. #19
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    You catch hell trying to get 10,000 to 15,000 for a used boat or vehicle but they will set you up for monster mortgage 3 to four times your yearly income in a quick minute!

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cottontop74 View Post
    You catch hell trying to get 10,000 to 15,000 for a used boat or vehicle but they will set you up for monster mortgage 3 to four times your yearly income in a quick minute!
    My client was moving from one nuke facility to another. Same field of work, same occupation, different location. A+ credit. He won't default on his loan, he'll be employed in another state in 30 days or less. I just think it was reckless on the employers part (SCE&G) to verify his employment to receive a loan if they knew the project was being abandoned. His first day of work he was there 4 hours and received 6 months severance. Crazy.

    I had tenants that worked at the plant. I've heard about the waste for the last few years. Building $47 million dollar mock ups and then tear em down for the scrap mill and then build another $47 million dollar final copy. I had one fella that said it was like walking around with his pockets opened up and someone stuffing money into them.

    The truly skilled labor are already on other nuke sites or gas and oil sites. Their lifestyle won't change at all. They are nomads that work outages and will continue to make serious coin for their efforts. If folks are willing to travel, live in a camper / hotel and earn the right credentials there is serious $ that can be made out there. They are paid for their skill in their respected field as well as their sacrifice given that many leave homes and families behind.

    The bottom line: SC residents have been fleeced.
    Listen to your elders. Not because they are always right but because they have more experiences of being wrong.

    "We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give" Sir Winston Churchill

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