H 5438

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 5438
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
A bill
TO AMEND THE SOUTH
CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ENACTING THE "SOUTH CAROLINA COMMUNITY CHOICE
AGGREGATION ACT" BY ADDING CHAPTER 45 TO TITLE 58 SO AS TO PROVIDE THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR ESTABLISHING A COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATION; TO PROVIDE FOR
THE RELATED DUTIES OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION AND THE OFFICE OF
REGULATORY STAFF; TO PROVIDE FOR THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ELECTRICAL
UTILITIES; TO PROVIDE THAT PARTICIPATION IN COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATIONS ARE
VOLUNTARY AND REQUIRE NOTICE AND OPT-OUT PROVISIONS; TO ESTABLISH STANDARDS FOR
COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATION RATES; TO PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMUNITY
CHOICE AGGREGATIONS RELATED TO ITS RESOURCES, PLANNING, MARKETING, BILLING,
ANNUAL REPORTS, AND FINANCIAL SECURITY; TO REQUIRE THE OFFICE OF REGULATORY
STAFF TO ESTABLISH A COMPLAINT AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESS FOR CUSTOMERS; TO
PROHIBIT CUSTOMER DATA BEING USED FOR PURPOSES OTHER THAN PROVIDING SERVICES
AND TO SAFEGUARD CUSTOMER DATA; TO PERMIT TERMINATION OF SERVICE PURSUANT TO
TERMS APPROVED BY THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION; TO PERMIT THE OFFICE OF
REGULATORY STAFF TO AUDIT COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATIONS AND THEIR VENDORS; TO
PERMIT AN ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE OR MUNICIPAL UTILITY TO EITHER OFFER OR
PARTICIPATE IN A COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATION; AND TO REQUIRE THE PUBLIC
SERVICE COMMISSION TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS.
Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1.  This act may be cited as the "South Carolina Community Choice
Aggregation Act."
SECTION 2.  The General Assembly finds that:
       (1) Enabling
local governments to aggregate electric load can provide retail customers with
access to competitive electric supply, renewable energy options, and energy
efficiency at potentially lower costs.
       (2) Community
choice aggregation can be implemented while maintaining system reliability,
universal service, and consumer protections.
       (3) Coordination
among community choice aggregations, electrical utilities, the Public Service
Commission, and the Office of Regulatory Staff is necessary to ensure
transparent markets and just and reasonable rates.
SECTION 3.  Title 58 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:
CHAPTER 45
Community Choice Aggregation
    Section
58-45-10.  For purposes of this chapter:
    (1)
"Aggregation" or "community choice aggregation" means the combining of retail
electric customers within a jurisdiction for the purpose of procuring electric
generation and related services on their behalf.
    (2)
"Commission" means the South Carolina Public Service Commission.
    (3)
"Default service" means electric generation service provided by the incumbent
electric utility to customers who do not take service from a community choice
aggregation or another competitive supplier.
    (4)
"Electric utility" means an investor-owned utility, electric cooperative, or
municipal electric utility providing distribution service within South
Carolina.
    (5)
"Eligible customer" means any retail electric customer within the geographic
boundaries of a participating jurisdiction, excluding customers taking service
under special contracts or tariffs expressly exempted by the commission.
    (6)
"Governing body" means the legislative body of a county or municipality.
"Governing body" also means a joint powers entity formed pursuant to Section
58-45-20(B).
    (7)
"Load serving entity" means an entity responsible for supplying electric energy
and capacity to retail customers.
    (8) "ORS"
means the South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff.
    (9)
"Opt out" means a customer's right to decline participation in a community
choice aggregation and remain on default service.
    Section
58-45-20.  (A) A county or
municipality, by ordinance or resolution after notice and public hearing, may
establish a community choice aggregation to procure electric supply and related
services for eligible customers within its jurisdiction.
    (B)
Two or more municipalities, counties, or a combination of municipalities and counties,
may form a joint powers entity to operate a multi-jurisdictional community
choice aggregation. A joint powers entity may be established by an intergovernmental
agreement that is approved by each participating governing body.
    (C) A
governing body may contract with a third-party administrator or load serving
entity for procurement, scheduling, and related services for its community
choice aggregation.
    Section
58-45-30.  (A) A community choice
aggregation must register with the commission and the ORS and shall obtain a
certificate of authority before commencing service.
    (B) The
ORS shall monitor community choice aggregation compliance, investigate
complaints, and make recommendations to the commission.
    Section
58-45-40.  (A)(1) The incumbent electric utility
shall continue to own, operate, and maintain distribution facilities, provide
delivery service, metering, and customer service related to wires side
reliability and safety. The electric utility shall also continue to provide billing
services, if applicable.
       (2)
The incumbent electric utility shall provide the community choice aggregation
with customer data necessary for implementation including, but not limited to,
customer names, electricity services addresses, rate classes, and electric
usage history; however, all data provided pursuant to this item shall be subject
to data privacy rules, customer consent requirements, and commission regulations.
    (B)(1) The electric utility shall
implement a community choice aggregation specific tariff for:
  (a)
load shaping and scheduling services;
  (b)
nonbypassable charges for legacy costs and public policy programs that are approved
by the commission; and
  (c)
cost-based charges for billing, data exchange, and customer care related to community
choice aggregation.
       (2)
If requested by the community choice aggregation, the incumbent electric
utility shall provide consolidated billing, subject to commission approved
standards and cost recovery.
    Section
58-45-50.  (A) Participation in a community
choice aggregation shall be on a voluntary basis. Prior to enrolling a customer
in a community choice aggregation, community choice aggregation must provide at
least two written notices to eligible customers. Each notice must, at a
minimum, describe the community choice aggregation's rates, products,
environmental attributes, terms, fees, how to opt out, and consumer
protections.
    (B) Community
choice aggregation customers shall have no less than thirty days after the
second notice to opt out without penalty. Customers may opt out at any time
thereafter, subject to reasonable switching rules and any commission approved
termination fees necessary to prevent cost shifts. However, low-income
customers and customers on medical baseline or similar programs shall not be
charged termination fees to opt out of a community choice aggregation after
enrollment.
    (C) A
community choice aggregation shall not require deposits from residential
customers and shall offer bill assistance programs at least equivalent to those
available under utility default service.
    Section
58-45-60.  (A) Community choice
aggregation generation rates shall be just and reasonable. Generation rates may
include differentiated product options.
    (B)
The commission shall ensure that utility default service rates and community
choice aggregation rates are presented transparently on its customers' bills.
    (C)
The commission may approve nonbypassable charges to ensure recovery of utility
costs prudently incurred for legacy generation, public policy programs, and
stranded costs, to prevent cost shifts among customers.
    (D) Electric
utility administrative costs reasonably incurred to support community choice
aggregation implementation shall be recovered through charges as approved by
the commission.
    Section
58-45-70.  (A) A community choice
aggregation, either directly or through its load serving entity or
administrator, shall meet all applicable resource adequacy, capacity, and
reliability requirements established by the commission or as otherwise required
by state or federal laws, rules, or regulations. Each community choice
aggregation must submit annual procurement plans to the commission and the ORS
demonstrating compliance with reliability requirements.
    (B) Subject
to commission rules, a community choice aggregation may procure energy
efficiency, demand response, distributed energy resources, and renewable energy
credits to meet customer preferences.
    Section
58-45-80.  (A) Each community choice
aggregation shall file an annual report with the commission and the ORS
regarding its annual emissions and renewable energy usage. These reports must
be publicly available and shall be posted on the commission's and the ORS'
websites.
    (B) A community
choice aggregation may offer voluntary renewable portfolios. If a community
choice aggregation offers voluntary renewable portfolios, it must accurately
disclose the renewable resources for each portfolio.
    Section
58-45-90.  (A) All community choice
aggregations and vendor marketing materials shall be clear, accurate, and not
misleading, and its terms and conditions shall be conspicuously printed on the
materials.
    (B)
The commission shall establish requirements for community choice aggregation
billing to ensure transparency in customer bills, including: price disclosure,
contract terms, contact information to initiate a complaint and the process for
a complaint resolution, privacy protections, and language access.
    (C) The
ORS shall establish a complaint and dispute resolution process for community
choice aggregation customers.
    Section
58-45-100. Customer data obtained by community choice aggregations shall be
used solely for providing service and may not be sold or shared except as
necessary for operations under confidentiality obligations. Community choice
aggregations shall implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical
safeguards to protect customer information and shall notify affected customers
and ORS of any data breach consistent with state law.
    Section
58-45-110. Each community choice aggregation shall maintain financial security,
including a performance bond or letter of credit, in amounts set by the commission
to ensure continuity of service and cover procurement obligations. In addition,
the commission may require reserve margins or working capital standards
suitable for the community choice aggregation's load.
    Section
58-45-120. (A) A community choice
aggregation may terminate service only upon commission approval of a transition
plan that ensures uninterrupted default service by the electric utility and
protects customers from undue costs.
    (B)
Upon termination, funds held by the community choice aggregation shall be used
to satisfy outstanding obligations. If any funds remain after satisfying these
obligations, the surplus funds must be returned to customers or used for
customer programs as approved by the commission.
    Section
58-45-130. Each community choice aggregation shall file an annual report with the
commission and the ORS for the prior year. The report shall include: electric load
served, rates, electricity resource mix, program outcomes, customer counts,
complaints, and financial statements.
    Section
58-45-140. The ORS may audit community choice aggregations and its vendors to
the extent utilized for the community choice aggregation to ensure compliance
with the provisions of this chapter and commission regulations. All community
choice aggregations shall cooperate with the ORS and provide requested records.
    Section
58-45-150. (A) An electric
cooperative or municipal utility may elect to offer or participate in community
choice aggregation like aggregation programs within or across their service
territories, subject to governance requirements established by their respective
boards and consistent with this chapter's consumer protection standards. Nothing
in this chapter prohibits an electric cooperative or municipal utility from
offering retail choice within its territories if otherwise permitted by law.
    Section
58-45-160. The commission shall promulgate
regulations concerning the provisions of this chapter including, but not
limited to, community choice aggregation:
    (1) registration
standards;
    (2)
reporting requirements;
    (3)
financial security requirements;
    (4)
resource adequacy;
    (5)
market conduct standards;
    (6)
billing standards;
    (7)
consumer protections;
    (8)
reliability requirements;
    (9)
cost recovery mechanisms;
    (10)
electric utility tariffs; and
    (11)
data exchange protocols.
SECTION 4.  The
Public Service Commission shall adopt its initial regulations no later than
twelve months after the effective date of this act.
SECTION 5.  If any section, subsection,
paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for
any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not
affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act,
the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and
each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause,
phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other
sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases,
or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise
ineffective.
SECTION 6.  This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.
----XX----
This web page was last updated on June 04, 2026 at 03:41 PM