Federal regulators give blessing to Dominion merger plan

Federal regulators give blessing to Dominion merger plan: COLUMBIA, S.C.: A deal to merge troubled South Carolina utility SCANA with Dominion Energy cleared another hurdle this week, moving a step closer to an agreement that could mean more than a billion dollars in rebates for utility customers. The parent company of Dominion Energy Ohio (formerly East Ohio Gas) announced Tuesday that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission had approved the indirect transfer of the operating license for the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station from SCANA subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. to the Virginia-based company. SCANA suddenly needed a buyer after spending $5 billion on a pair of reactors abandoned a year ago at V.C. Summer. Thousands of people were left jobless in the debacle, which has spawned more than a dozen lawsuits and followed the bankruptcy of lead contractor Westinghouse. Dominion is offering more than $1 billion in rebates to SCE&G customers in the deal, which would also cut rates by about 7 percent. SCANA shareholders voted in…