The following words, when used in this chapter, has the following meanings, unless otherwise clearly apparent from the context:
(1) The term "commission" means Public Service Commission.
(2) The term "major utility facility" means:
(a) electric generating plant and associated facilities designed for, or capable of, operation at a capacity of more than seventy-five megawatts.
(b) an electric transmission line and associated facilities of a designed operating voltage of one hundred twenty-five kilovolts or more; provided, however, that the words "major utility facility" shall not include electric distribution lines and associated facilities.
(3) The term "commence to construct" means any clearing of land, excavation, or other action that would adversely affect the natural environment of the site or route of a major utility facility, but does not include surveying or changes needed for temporary use of sites or routes for nonutility purposes, or uses in securing geological data, including necessary borings to ascertain foundation conditions.
(4) The term "municipality" means any county or municipality within this State.
(5) The term "person" includes any individual, group, firm, partnership, corporation, cooperative, association, government subdivision, government agency, local government, municipality, any other organization, or any combination of any of the foregoing, and shall include the South Carolina Public Service Authority.
(6) The term "public utility" or "utility" means any person engaged in the generating, distributing, sale, delivery, or furnishing of electricity for public use.
(7) The term "land" means any real estate or any estate or interest therein, including water and riparian rights, regardless of the use to which it is devoted.
(8) The term "certificate" means a certificate of environmental compatibility and public convenience and necessity.
(9) The term "regulatory staff" means the executive director or the executive director and the employees of the Office of Regulatory Staff.
(10) The term "like facility" with reference to generation facilities and without limitation, includes a facility or facilities that are proposed to provide capacity on a site currently or previously used for siting electric generation that replaces the capacity of a facility or facilities that are being retired, abandoned, brownfield, downrated, mothballed, or dedicated to standby or emergency service at the same site, limited to facilities no more than 300 megawatts for non-nuclear generation, so long as those new facilities will provide an amount of effective load-carrying capacity that in whole or in part will serve to replace the capacity to be lost as a result of retirement, capacity lost as a result of abandonment, or in the case of nuclear generation, will serve to provide the facility and includes associated transmission facilities needed to deliver power from that facility to customers. A "like facility" with reference to transmission facilities and, without limitation, includes any facility that represents the rebuilding, reconductoring, paralleling, increasing voltage, adding circuits or otherwise reconfiguring of an existing transmission line or other transmission facilities including, without limitation, projects to increase the capacity of such facilities, provided such facilities are: (a) located materially within a utility right of way or corridor; or (b) substantially located on the property of a customer, prospective customer, or the State.