Tea Party regulations harming SC business; Most hypocrisy EVER???

[bucs90]

GREENVILLE: SC’s solar power policy thwarts Furman’s green efforts | Politics | The State

Ok, here is a summary of the situation:

- Private Furman University put up solar panels
- They could eventually become 100% energy independent
- The Tea Party Queen Nikki Haley and the GOP dominate SC politics

- SCE&G and Duke Power are PRIVATE energy companies that dominate South Carolina
- SC has the highest electricity rates in the entire South, some of highest in USA
- SCE&G and Duke have paid out billions to their shareholders, again, they are private companies and they keep requesting rate hikes

- The Tea Party/Republican Party whines and preaches against "Regulations" that harm business
- The state has a LIMIT on how much solar power a business can have
- Yes, you read right, a LIMIT on how much solar power a business can have

WHY???? Because lobbyists from the two private power companies begged for it. See, if places like privately run Furman University start using solar to power their buildings...........shareholders and CEO's at these two power companies lose money.


The Tea Party/Republican Party is literally using regulations to pick winners/losers in private business. Unfortunately for Furman University (my alma mater btw), the huge power companies have more lobbying money than they do.



HYPOCRISY at its worst ever. The RW preaches against solar power and how ineffective it is. But, then they pass laws that limit how much solar a private business can use, beccause GOD FORBID they become energy independent and hurt the payouts the power company makes to its shareholders.

Absolutely disgusting. How one could ever vote GOP again baffles me.

 

[tooAlive]

If Tea Partiers are lobbying for government to intervene and give them an unfair advantage over other businesses, they got it straight outta' the socialist playbook.

 

[bucs90]

Its not "If". They are. Read the article.

The Tea Party dominated govt of SC is literally using govt regulation to pick winners and losers in the private sector here. And the power companies have the richest lobbyists.

Thats why the TP of SC, who rally and campaign on less government regulations, passed and maintained a regulation that limits just how much free energy a private business can harness from the sun.

As a business owner, would you be pissed at the Tea Party of SC? If you could put up a few solar panels and then cancel your overpriced power service from the power company? Say it wouldnt be that easy? Well, Furman University did it with a few buildings, and wants to do more, but cant. All because of Tea Party regulations coming from the Statehouse.

Gotta love it.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

GREENVILLE: SC’s solar power policy thwarts Furman’s green efforts | Politics | The State

Ok, here is a summary of the situation:

- Private Furman University put up solar panels
- They could eventually become 100% energy independent
- The Tea Party Queen Nikki Haley and the GOP dominate SC politics

- SCE&G and Duke Power are PRIVATE energy companies that dominate South Carolina
- SC has the highest electricity rates in the entire South, some of highest in USA
- SCE&G and Duke have paid out billions to their shareholders, again, they are private companies and they keep requesting rate hikes

- The Tea Party/Republican Party whines and preaches against "Regulations" that harm business
- The state has a LIMIT on how much solar power a business can have
- Yes, you read right, a LIMIT on how much solar power a business can have

WHY???? Because lobbyists from the two private power companies begged for it. See, if places like privately run Furman University start using solar to power their buildings...........shareholders and CEO's at these two power companies lose money.


The Tea Party/Republican Party is literally using regulations to pick winners/losers in private business. Unfortunately for Furman University (my alma mater btw), the huge power companies have more lobbying money than they do.



HYPOCRISY at its worst ever. The RW preaches against solar power and how ineffective it is. But, then they pass laws that limit how much solar a private business can use, beccause GOD FORBID they become energy independent and hurt the payouts the power company makes to its shareholders.

Absolutely disgusting. How one could ever vote GOP again baffles me.

Wait, I thought government regulations never hurt businesses? When did you come over to the dark side?

That said, I have a couple of questions, when was the limit passed into law, and who signed it? Not that it really matters to me, but you might find yourself apologizing if you checked.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Its not "If". They are. Read the article.

The Tea Party dominated govt of SC is literally using govt regulation to pick winners and losers in the private sector here. And the power companies have the richest lobbyists.

Thats why the TP of SC, who rally and campaign on less government regulations, passed and maintained a regulation that limits just how much free energy a private business can harness from the sun.

As a business owner, would you be pissed at the Tea Party of SC? If you could put up a few solar panels and then cancel your overpriced power service from the power company? Say it wouldnt be that easy? Well, Furman University did it with a few buildings, and wants to do more, but cant. All because of Tea Party regulations coming from the Statehouse.

Gotta love it.

Your article says that the cap was set 5 years ago, that was when the big business Republican Sanford was governor.

 

[TheOldSchool]

South Carolina's full of nuts.

A little known south-east secret... they're crazier than Alabama and Missouri. True story.

 

[dblack]

Corporatism, uber alles.

 

[tooAlive]

Its not "If". They are. Read the article.

The Tea Party dominated govt of SC is literally using govt regulation to pick winners and losers in the private sector here. And the power companies have the richest lobbyists.

Thats why the TP of SC, who rally and campaign on less government regulations, passed and maintained a regulation that limits just how much free energy a private business can harness from the sun.

As a business owner, would you be pissed at the Tea Party of SC? If you could put up a few solar panels and then cancel your overpriced power service from the power company? Say it wouldnt be that easy? Well, Furman University did it with a few buildings, and wants to do more, but cant. All because of Tea Party regulations coming from the Statehouse.

Gotta love it.

I wouldn't support that type of regulations no matter which side they came from.

Shame on those that do.

 

[TemplarKormac]

Sure, raising insurance premiums on employers twofold via Obamacare isn't harming business. Hypocrite much?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Its not "If". They are. Read the article.

The Tea Party dominated govt of SC is literally using govt regulation to pick winners and losers in the private sector here. And the power companies have the richest lobbyists.

Thats why the TP of SC, who rally and campaign on less government regulations, passed and maintained a regulation that limits just how much free energy a private business can harness from the sun.

As a business owner, would you be pissed at the Tea Party of SC? If you could put up a few solar panels and then cancel your overpriced power service from the power company? Say it wouldnt be that easy? Well, Furman University did it with a few buildings, and wants to do more, but cant. All because of Tea Party regulations coming from the Statehouse.

Gotta love it.

I wouldn't support that type of regulations no matter which side they came from.

Shame on those that do.

The strange thing here is that Bucs would support them if he remembered that the utility employs union workers, and that this regulation was intended to protect the utility from going broke.

 

[Seawytch]

How shocking...big business buying off legislators.

Here in sunny South Carolina, solar power is rare. There’s a reason for that.

In this state, it is illegal to buy solar energy from an entity that is not legally deemed a utility. What that means is if a company wants to install a solar panel on the roof of a house or a commercial building and sell electricity to the resident or the business it must be regulated just as if were SCE&G, Duke Energy or another juggernaut in the industry.

In Germany — and other states in the U.S. where solar energy flourishes — that is not the case.

So perhaps it wasn’t a surprise that when lawmakers here introduced a bill to change that, large utility companies in South Carolina pushed back. Utilities here are asking lawmakers to hold off on solar legislation.​

Solar Energy in S.C. Rare, Highly Regulated

State Sen. Greg Gregory, R-Lancaster, introduced a bill making it easier for solar energy companies to locate in South Carolina and offer lower-cost panels. South Carolina law now discourages solar companies from locating here.

The House derailed similar legislation last month after the state’s major power companies complained. Utilities are concerned about competition from the solar industry and have been cool to sun-friendly legislation in recent years.
​

SC Senate takes crack at solar-friendly law

Records show that big utilities and the state’s electric cooperatives association have spent $2.2 million lobbying lawmakers in the past 2½ years.​

Why solar power rarely shines in SC

This is what happens when your legislature is for sale.

 

[dblack]

How shocking...big business buying off legislators.

Here in sunny South Carolina, solar power is rare. There’s a reason for that.

In this state, it is illegal to buy solar energy from an entity that is not legally deemed a utility. What that means is if a company wants to install a solar panel on the roof of a house or a commercial building and sell electricity to the resident or the business it must be regulated just as if were SCE&G, Duke Energy or another juggernaut in the industry.

In Germany — and other states in the U.S. where solar energy flourishes — that is not the case.

So perhaps it wasn’t a surprise that when lawmakers here introduced a bill to change that, large utility companies in South Carolina pushed back. Utilities here are asking lawmakers to hold off on solar legislation.​

Solar Energy in S.C. Rare, Highly Regulated

State Sen. Greg Gregory, R-Lancaster, introduced a bill making it easier for solar energy companies to locate in South Carolina and offer lower-cost panels. South Carolina law now discourages solar companies from locating here.

The House derailed similar legislation last month after the state’s major power companies complained. Utilities are concerned about competition from the solar industry and have been cool to sun-friendly legislation in recent years.
​

SC Senate takes crack at solar-friendly law

Records show that big utilities and the state’s electric cooperatives association have spent $2.2 million lobbying lawmakers in the past 2½ years.​

Why solar power rarely shines in SC

This is what happens when your legislature is for sale.

And a legislature for sale is what happens when we mix up government with business. The core of this problem is the idea of public utilities. When we invite private businesses to get into bed with government (as we're now foolishly doing with the insurance industry) we drastically increase the incentive for those businesses to manipulate their markets via government.

Here, we have laws passed to protect the interests of the utility companies because government has a 'stake' in the success of those companies. It's even justifiable from the limited view that government strictly regulates how these companies can operate, so it's arguably unfair to let others 'compete' with them without similar regulation. But that puts government in charge of dictating the activities of not only the utility companies, but anyone who does business with them - essentially all of us.

We're now opening the same kind of door with PPACA (though it's really been 'ajar' for some time now). In exchange for acquiescing to becoming quasi 'public utilities', insurance companies have demanded, and received, the right to use the power of the legislature to control their customers.

I'm reasonably certain that none of this kind of corporate/government collusion was what the founders had in mind when granting government the power to regulate interstate commerce (and if it was, they were wrong to do so). I don't see the trend reversing without a Constitutional amendment along the lines of the separation of church and state - a separation of state and commerce - preventing government from monkeying with private commerce and vice versa. And I don't see that happening anytime soon. The trend is in the opposite direction.

 

[Wyatt earp]

GREENVILLE: SC’s solar power policy thwarts Furman’s green efforts | Politics | The State

Ok, here is a summary of the situation:

- Private Furman University put up solar panels
- They could eventually become 100% energy independent
- The Tea Party Queen Nikki Haley and the GOP dominate SC politics

- SCE&G and Duke Power are PRIVATE energy companies that dominate South Carolina
- SC has the highest electricity rates in the entire South, some of highest in USA
- SCE&G and Duke have paid out billions to their shareholders, again, they are private companies and they keep requesting rate hikes

- The Tea Party/Republican Party whines and preaches against "Regulations" that harm business
- The state has a LIMIT on how much solar power a business can have
- Yes, you read right, a LIMIT on how much solar power a business can have

WHY???? Because lobbyists from the two private power companies begged for it. See, if places like privately run Furman University start using solar to power their buildings...........shareholders and CEO's at these two power companies lose money.


The Tea Party/Republican Party is literally using regulations to pick winners/losers in private business. Unfortunately for Furman University (my alma mater btw), the huge power companies have more lobbying money than they do.



HYPOCRISY at its worst ever. The RW preaches against solar power and how ineffective it is. But, then they pass laws that limit how much solar a private business can use, beccause GOD FORBID they become energy independent and hurt the payouts the power company makes to its shareholders.

Absolutely disgusting. How one could ever vote GOP again baffles me.

They are covering costs to build their new Nuke plants the first ones built in the US in 30 years. You liberals wanted us of of fossil fuel right?

 

[LordBrownTrout]

Progressives come in all forms. No, of course I don't support more regs.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

How shocking...big business buying off legislators.

Here in sunny South Carolina, solar power is rare. There’s a reason for that.

In this state, it is illegal to buy solar energy from an entity that is not legally deemed a utility. What that means is if a company wants to install a solar panel on the roof of a house or a commercial building and sell electricity to the resident or the business it must be regulated just as if were SCE&G, Duke Energy or another juggernaut in the industry.

In Germany — and other states in the U.S. where solar energy flourishes — that is not the case.

So perhaps it wasn’t a surprise that when lawmakers here introduced a bill to change that, large utility companies in South Carolina pushed back. Utilities here are asking lawmakers to hold off on solar legislation.​

Solar Energy in S.C. Rare, Highly Regulated

State Sen. Greg Gregory, R-Lancaster, introduced a bill making it easier for solar energy companies to locate in South Carolina and offer lower-cost panels. South Carolina law now discourages solar companies from locating here.

The House derailed similar legislation last month after the state’s major power companies complained. Utilities are concerned about competition from the solar industry and have been cool to sun-friendly legislation in recent years.
​

SC Senate takes crack at solar-friendly law

Records show that big utilities and the state’s electric cooperatives association have spent $2.2 million lobbying lawmakers in the past 2½ years.​

Why solar power rarely shines in SC

This is what happens when your legislature is for sale.

And a legislature for sale is what happens when we mix up government with business. The core of this problem is the idea of public utilities. When we invite private businesses to get into bed with government (as we're now foolishly doing with the insurance industry) we drastically increase the incentive for those businesses to manipulate their markets via government.

Here, we have laws passed to protect the interests of the utility companies because government has a 'stake' in the success of those companies. It's even justifiable from the limited view that government strictly regulates how these companies can operate, so it's arguably unfair to let others 'compete' with them without similar regulation. But that puts government in charge of dictating the activities of not only the utility companies, but anyone who does business with them - essentially all of us.

We're now opening the same kind of door with PPACA (though it's really been 'ajar' for some time now). In exchange for acquiescing to becoming quasi 'public utilities', insurance companies have demanded, and received, the right to use the power of the legislature to control their customers.

I'm reasonably certain that none of this kind of corporate/government collusion was what the founders had in mind when granting government the power to regulate interstate commerce (and if it was, they were wrong to do so). I don't see the trend reversing without a Constitutional amendment along the lines of the separation of church and state - a separation of state and commerce - preventing government from monkeying with private commerce and vice versa. And I don't see that happening anytime soon. The trend is in the opposite direction.

Thankfully, some of us see it. Unfortunately, not nearly enough to make any changes. This will spiral completely out of control though.

 

[Katzndogz]

The power companies are public utilities even if privately owned. They still come under the rules and regulations covering public utilities.

I read the whole article and didn't see "tea party" mentioned one time.

 

[RadioRefugee]

Tea Party regulations harming SC business; Most hypocrisy EVER???

- The Tea Party/Republican Party whines and preaches against "Regulations" that harm business

The Tea Party/Republican Party is literally using regulations to pick winners/losers in private business. Unfortunately for Furman University (my alma mater btw), the huge power companies have more lobbying money than they do.

From your link:

State rules cap the amount of solar energy allowed in South Carolina at 100 kilowatts for non-residential customers, a standard that is tighter than many states, including Florida and North Carolina. The limit, set about five years ago, applies to those who use a combination of sun power and energy from local utilities, which is virtually every solar user in South Carolina.

Now....simple subtraction. 2013 - 5 = 2008. There was NO TEA PARTY IN 2008.

It also appears that the university is free to go off the grid and power their leftwad paradise in any fashion they please. Why don't they do that?

 

[CrusaderFrank]

They should have bought they're panels and equipment from Obama's Solyndra!!

If solar were viable without massive subsidies, the power companies would be all over it.

They're trying to protect the consumers from putting all their eggs into a government subsidy basket

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Bucs90 and Jake Starkey are brothers

 

[LordBrownTrout]

Tea Party regulations harming SC business; Most hypocrisy EVER???

- The Tea Party/Republican Party whines and preaches against "Regulations" that harm business

The Tea Party/Republican Party is literally using regulations to pick winners/losers in private business. Unfortunately for Furman University (my alma mater btw), the huge power companies have more lobbying money than they do.

From your link:

State rules cap the amount of solar energy allowed in South Carolina at 100 kilowatts for non-residential customers, a standard that is tighter than many states, including Florida and North Carolina. The limit, set about five years ago, applies to those who use a combination of sun power and energy from local utilities, which is virtually every solar user in South Carolina.

Now....simple subtraction. 2013 - 5 = 2008. There was NO TEA PARTY IN 2008.

It also appears that the university is free to go off the grid and power their leftwad paradise in any fashion they please. Why don't they do that?

Just noticed that. Had nothing to do with the tea party. Regardless of this, whomever is imposing unnecessary regs, I'm against.