Fact check: Are those SCANA settlement checks SC residents have gotten lately real?

If you have received a SCANA/Dominion Energy settlement check in recent days, it is not a scam.

The checks are real.

According to the official website for the settlement, a second distribution of settlement checks were mailed on Dec. 30.

Some residents took to social media in recent days, confused about why they had received the checks and questioned if they were real. A South Carolina judge approved the $61 million total payout back in May of last year, so it’s understandable that some residents have forgotten about or have never heard of the second round of checks.

Eligible customers were sent initial checks or bill credit in August 2019. If you received an initial payment or credit and your check was not returned as undeliverable, you were eligible for a second payment, the website states.

The checks stem from a multiyear lawsuit that arose from SCANA’s $10 billion failure to build a nuclear plant, which had been financed by South Carolina Electric and Gas Company customers since 2009. SCANA was an electric and natural gas utility acquired by Dominion Energy in 2019.

The lawsuit was filed in September 2018 and later became a class action on behalf of more than 1 million former ratepayers.

A state law had allowed SCANA to charge ratepayers for the construction of the failed nuclear plant project.

However, while the checks are real, the website does warn of misinformation being shared on social media, texts and or phone calls that falsely suggests there is a $1,000 refund available to be claimed by SCE&G customers and that you must call a certain number to get the money.

“Please be aware that calls, texts or social media messages that customers may have received regarding settlement are not authorized by the Court,” the website reads.