Palmetto State News

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Governor Henry McMaster today issued Executive Order 2023-18, establishing the PowerSC Energy Resources and Economic Development Interagency Working Group (PowerSC). PowerSC will work with the state's energy stakeholders to develop strategic plans to ensure South Carolina has the energy capacity to meet the needs of the state's record-breaking economic development and population growth. 

"South Carolina has enjoyed unprecedented economic success and population growth in recent years, and with that success comes a need for greater energy generation," said Governor Henry McMaster. "By establishing PowerSC, we ensure that South Carolina can meet these increased energy demands while also keeping energy costs low for consumers and ratepayers." 

PowerSC will play a critical role in various aspects of the state's energy future by assisting with developing an updated state energy plan with the Office of Regulatory Staff, facilitating additional coordination between the state's utility providers, and assessing opportunities to incorporate additional nuclear power production and natural gas pipeline or generation capacity. 

In addition, PowerSC will identify opportunities to improve state licensing and permitting processes related to energy infrastructure, evaluate building codes to recommend modifications to enhance energy efficiency, and work with industry stakeholders, education providers, and other state agencies to evaluate supply gaps in the state's energy workforce. 

PowerSC will be compromised of the following entities: 

• Office of the Governor

• Office of Regulatory Staff, including the Energy Office
• Environmental Affairs Administration, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control 
• Division of Land, Water, and Conservation, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources 
• South Carolina Department of Transportation
• South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce
• South Carolina Office of Resilience
• South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation

This Executive Order works hand-in-hand with Executive Order 2022-31, which formalized the governor’s efforts to coordinate the future roll-out of the state’s electric vehicle infrastructure and created an interagency working group tasked with developing a comprehensive plan regarding the strategic deployment of electric vehicle-related resources and infrastructure across the state. 

Since Governor McMaster took office in 2017, South Carolina has announced over 700 economic development projects, totaling more than $32.5 billion in new investment and over 81,000 new jobs. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, South Carolina is the third fastest-growing state in the nation. 

Original source can be found here