Mike Couick
Because of the nature of what we do, people who work in the electric industry are sometimes known to mark time by storms. It is the storms that most test our systems, the preparations that we’ve made, our employees and the people whom we serve.
Storm work tends to follow a predictable pattern: identification of the potential threat, intense preparation for its arrival, endurance of the storm itself, and then the grueling process of putting things back together. Sometimes there is a period of time after the worst of the storm has passed, but before it is safe to begin work, where all anyone can do is take in the damage and devastation. Those times when you can see the damage but can’t do anything to fix it can make the task seem overwhelming, even insurmountable. But once the work begins and progress is made, the end, even if it is far off, comes into sight. And that makes a big difference.
The last several years brought their own share of devastating storms of the typical variety, but they also brought a storm of a different sort. When construction of the two nuclear units in Jenkinsville was halted in August of 2017, significant portions of our state seemed destined to face a financial catastrophe rivaling that of a natural disaster. This storm caught many people by surprise, and most were left wondering how the people they had trusted to make appropriate preparations had actually managed to create a problem of historic proportions.
The size and scope of this nuclear financial crisis were without precedent in our industry. Surveying the damage and devastation was overwhelming and, at times, made the crisis itself seem insurmountable. But, just like in the aftermath of a natural disaster, people began the hard and often painful work of picking up the pieces.
South Carolina’s leaders, our governor and the leaders of our General Assembly, wasted no time taking ownership of the restoration effort. They surveyed the damage and began the long and difficult process of putting things back together. That process has only just begun. Due to the size and impact of this particular financial catastrophe, it will be many years before the restoration work is accomplished, but as progress is being made, the end is coming into sight. While our state will never be the same, the prospects of a full recovery, which looked almost impossible many months ago, look more and more promising as they continue to accomplish the difficult work. Our state is not where she wants to be, but she is not where she was, either.
Fred Rogers, known to almost all of us as “Mister Rogers,” spoke of the advice that his mother gave him as a child when he was anxious about a disaster he might see on the news. Rogers said, “My mother would say to me, ‘look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers.”
South Carolina’s electric cooperatives are thankful for the helpers in the General Assembly and the governor’s office who stepped in to begin the process of restoration. We hope to be counted in their company. (For more on how S.C. electric cooperatives are doing our part to protect electricity consumers statewide, see “The $4 billion question.”
We dedicate our 2019–2020 Legislative Directory issue to those who have made it their mission to restore the damage done by all the storms that have hit our state—both natural and financial.