SCANA Corporation and South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G) reached a $2 billion settlement agreement on Saturday with plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit over the costs electric ratepayers have made towards the VC Summer nuclear power plant project.

The lawsuit arose due to SCANA and SCE&G canceled construction of the VC Summer Units 2 & 3 nuclear power plants in July 2017. The Base Load Review Act had allowed SCANA and SCE&G to collect payments from electric rate payers during the construction of the cancelled nuclear power plants to pay for the plants’ costs. The average customer bill included $30 per month for the nuclear power plant costs. In the settlement, SCANA and SCE&G state that they deny the allegations made in the class action lawsuit.

The $2 billion settlement will come in the form of a credit in future electric rate relief for class members. The Public Service Commission of South Carolina will determine the time period in which the settlement will be distributed. A cash payment of $115 million will also be made to the class action suit members. Proceeds from the sale of SCE&G real estate will also be distributed to the class action suit members.

The settlement still requires court approval. The settlement agreement is also dependent on the Public Service Commission approving a merger between SCANA Corporation and Dominion Energy. Dominion Energy will be providing financial resources towards the settlement.

The lawsuit comes as several states have taken steps towards providing subsidies for operating nuclear power plants to prevent them from closing. In October, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the Zero Emissions Credit subsidy for nuclear power plants in New York. In September, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the Zero Emissions Credit subsidy for nuclear power plants in Illinois.