SCANA, an electric utility firm in the US state of South Carolina, agreed to pay at least $137.5 million in fines and disgorgement over the failed expansion of a nuclear power plant, the Justice Department said in a press release on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd December, 2020) SCANA, an electric utility firm in the US state of South Carolina, agreed to pay at least $137.5 million in fines and disgorgement over the failed expansion of a nuclear power plant, the Justice Department said in a press release on Thursday.
"The proposed settlement, which remains subject to court approval, would require SCANA to pay a $25 million penalty and require SCANA and SCE&G [a subsidiary] to pay $112.5 million in disgorgement plus prejudgment interest," the release said.
The settlement stems from a February 2020 complaint by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against SCANA, its subsidiary and two former senior executives charging that a project to build two nuclear units would qualify the company for tax credits, despite knowing the project was so far behind schedule it was not eligible for the credits.
The false statements and omissions boosted SCANA's stock price, enabled it to raise rates on customers and sell more than $1 billion in bonds prior to mid-2017, when SCANA announced it was scrapping the project. As a result, investors lost hundreds of millions of Dollars, the SEC said.
SCANA agreed to the settlement without admitting or denying the allegations, the Justice Department said.
