Santee Cooper Eliminates $360M in Long-term Debt
Staff Report From South Carolina CEO
Wednesday, October 23rd, 2019
Acting on a key component of its 2019 Business Forecast, Santee Cooper has executed a transaction that pays off $360 million of long-term debt, which will help the utility provide stable electricity prices to customers for at least five years.
The transaction authorizes payment of certain bonds issued in 2009 through 2013, 2015 and 2016, along with certain MiniBonds.
Santee Cooper’s 2019 Business Forecast calls for a significantly greener resource mix, through closing coal units and adding solar and natural gas, as well as a series of strategic financial transactions to address the long-term debt. Forecast provisions will reduce or hold customer prices stable for at least another five years, preserve power system reliability, reduce the utility’s carbon emissions by another 30 percent over the next decade, and pay off its debt faster and at a lesser cost to customers.
“Santee Cooper’s customers will benefit by our using debt reduction funds to retire part of our debt now, which produces a better result through long-term savings,” said President and CEO Mark Bonsall. “This transaction enhances the value of Santee Cooper and is done with permission of the S.C. Department of Administration.”