South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster wants state electricity providers to review their power grids to see if they can face problems like what happened in Texas during the recent winter storm.
McMaster sent a letter on Friday to the Office of Regulatory Staff, asking the watchdog group to “conduct a comprehensive review of our state’s public and private power grid to assess its ability to withstand potential ice storms and other dangerous conditions. winter.”
His letter noted that the state is familiar with how hurricanes can interrupt power supplies.
McMaster asked the agency to send his report to his office and lawmakers and to request a hearing on the matter before the Public Service Commission, if he deems appropriate.
The governor’s letter also requested that state-owned Santee Cooper, which is not under the control of regulators, also participate in the review.
One of the state’s biggest energy suppliers told WIS-TV that a power grid collapse like what happened in Texas is unlikely here.
While the Texas grid is isolated, South Carolina is connected to energy suppliers along the East Coast and can buy additional electricity from distant areas that are not affected, said Dominion Energy’s president of Electrical Operations, Keller Kissam.
“We could have electricity flowing into our system from another utility, or we could be flowing into another utility, and it’s perfect,” Kissam told the TV station. “Customers never see that.”