Thread by @AveryGWilks

Today marks two years since the VC Summer #nuclear construction project was suddenly abandoned, quickly becoming one of the largest financial, legal, political and regulatory debacles in the history of South Carolina. Thread (1/?):

A quick search of @thestate's archives show we have since published more than 500 stories, editorials, op-eds, and letters to the editor about VC Summer. I've spent the past two years following the story, with tons of help from @sfretwell83 and others here.

We interviewed sources and reviewed hundreds of thousands of documents to piece together how the project failed, who enabled it and benefited from it and how it had caused the power bills of millions of #SC residents to soar. A few highlights:

.@sfretwell83 had been on top of VC Summer for years and covered the breaking news when both @santeecooper and SCE&G - the SC #utilities that owned the project - canceled it abruptly. thestate.com/news/local/art…

.@wilkinson_Jeff immediately drove to Jenkinsville to cover the #local impact of the project's cancellation (and thousands of workers being put out of a job) thestate.com/news/local/art…

Days later, those employees crashed a State House press conference abt it thestate.com/news/politics-…

That weekend, @cassielcope and I revealed the story of how SC lawmakers enabled the debacle by quickly passing a law written by utility lawyers that let SCE&G gamble on the project with ratepayer $$.

The law tied regulators' hands. Few lawmakers read it.
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Not long after, @jamiemself and I followed the #money. It showed SCE&G poured tons of campaign cash into the coffers of important SC lawmakers who pushed for the law and appointed SCE&G's regulators. thestate.com/news/politics-…

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.@sfretwell83 wrote story after story explaining what was at stake for SCE&G customers, who had paid $1.4 billion in higher power bills for the unfinished reactors and faced paying billions more thestate.com/news/state/art…

thestate.com/news/local/art…

.@jamiemself reported in Aug 2017 that @henrymcmaster was exploring selling @santeecooper after the state-owned utility lost $4 billion to the project. 2 years later, the idea has taken hold. The state is now fielding offers for lawmakers to consider thestate.com/news/politics-…

I reported that SCE&G executives who led the failing project earned millions of dollars in bonuses for their great work. Later, we revealed those same executives were in line to receive golden parachutes if SCE&G were sold thestate.com/news/politics-…

S.C. House and Senate investigations began within a month of the project's abandonment. We had a reporter at each and every one of the daylong hearings, which carried into 2018. thestate.com/news/politics-…

Longtime @santeecooper CEO Lonnie Carter retired less than a month after the project's collapse. @thestate broke the story the day before. Carter now is in secret talks with federal investigators, we exclusively reported recently. digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODN/TheS…

On Labor Day 2017, I returned from covering a parade to learn Gov. @henrymcmaster was forcing @santeecooper to turn over a secret report that showed the utilities knew the project was in jeopardy long before it failed.

It was a smoking gun. thestate.com/news/local/art…

A steady drip of stories followed. #Lawmakers were furious. State and federal investigations had launched into the project's failure. McMaster negotiated with potential buyers for Santee Cooper.

Ratepayers blamed lawmakers, who blamed regulators, who blamed the #utilities. Co-ops blamed Santee Cooper, who blamed SCE&G, who blamed @WECNuclear (the lead contractor).

Lawsuits were filed in every direction. We covered it all. thestate.com/news/local/art…

One Saturday in October, I woke up and broke the story that SCE&G's top two executives were departing. The company issued a vague statement denying it. The execs denied it in a note to employees that Monday. On Tuesday, they announced they were retiring. thestate.com/news/politics-…

We wrote stories that showed SCE&G's attitude toward ratepayers' #money, including this one about how they spent it on celebratory jet flights, limo rides and gift cards.

“They were unable to provide a business purpose for why they were at Hooters.” thestate.com/news/politics-…

We wrote story after story about concerns that were voiced internally about the project's problems. We covered the ongoing investigations into the debacle. We reported extensively on @DominionEnergy's proposal to purchase SCE&G thestate.com/news/politics-…

We wrote a number of stories that poked holes in Dominion's first offer, which initially was praised by some state elected leaders and candidates. @domenergysc ended up revising its offer twice to satisfy concerns of lawmakers and ratepayer attorneys thestate.com/news/politics-…

We broke stories with details about behind-the-scenes negotiations over @santeecooper's fate. We covered every twist and turn of the Legislature's successful effort to cut SCE&G's rates. thestate.com/news/politics-…

We covered every day of the November hearings into VC Summer and the Dominion-SCE&G buyout. Several of them were explosive. thestate.com/news/politics-…

When the buyout was approved, we wrote about the $2.3 billion tab for SCE&G customers thestate.com/news/politics-…

We've continued to cover the legal settlement that has won up to $146 million in cash refunds for SCE&G customers as well as the ongoing criminal #investigation into the project thestate.com/news/politics-…

We also continue to extensively cover the potential sale of @santeecooper, a process that will carry into 2020 (at least). thestate.com/news/politics-…

If you've made it this far, chances are you appreciate this kind of reporting and believe our unceasing attention to this story has made a difference. We do, too. But we need your support to continue this kind of work. Please consider subscribing account.thestate.com/static/subscri…