Beatrice Lang
Santee Cooper, officially known as the South Carolina Public Service Authority, is a state-owned electric and water utility company. It is one of the largest power providers in South Carolina, serving over 165,000 customers in Berkeley, Georgetown, and Horry counties. Santee Cooper has a diverse energy portfolio, including coal, nuclear, oil, natural gas, and hydroelectric sources. The company has faced financial troubles and debates about its management, with a failed expansion project at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station resulting in significant debt. Laurens Electric Cooperative, a separate entity, is an electric cooperative that serves its members and has received grants from Santee Cooper for grid resilience projects. While Laurens Electric Cooperative is not owned by Santee Cooper, they have a relationship where Santee Cooper provides funding and works to restore power outages for Laurens Electric Cooperative and its members.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Laurens Electric | A cooperative with 2,941 members |
| Santee Cooper | South Carolina's state-owned electric and water utility |
| Relationship | Laurens Electric is a customer of Santee Cooper |
| Santee Cooper's Customers | Retail customers in Berkeley, Georgetown, and Horry counties |
| Santee Cooper's Board of Directors | Appointed by the governor and approved by the state Senate |
| Santee Cooper's Headquarters | Moncks Corner, South Carolina |
| Santee Cooper's Power Sources | Coal, nuclear, oil, natural gas, hydroelectric, and other renewable sources |
| Santee Cooper's Grid Resilience Grant Program | Provides funding for projects to improve grid resilience and reduce outages |
| Santee Cooper's Role in the Santee Cooper Power and Navigation Project | Improved navigation and provided hydroelectric power from the Santee and Cooper rivers in South Carolina |
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What You'll Learn
Laurens Electric Cooperative
Santee Cooper, officially known as the South Carolina Public Service Authority, was created during the New Deal as a rural electrification and public works project. It built hydro-electric dams and power plants, creating two lakes—Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie—and clearing large tracts of land. The Santee Cooper Power and Navigation Project, constructed in 1939, improved navigation and provided hydroelectric power from the Santee and Cooper rivers.
Santee Cooper directly serves more than 165,000 residential and commercial customers in Berkeley, Georgetown, and Horry counties. It supplies power to the cities of Bamberg and Georgetown, 30 large industrial customers, and Charleston Air Force Base. Santee Cooper has a diverse fuel and energy supply, including coal, nuclear, oil, natural gas, hydroelectric, and other renewable sources.
Santee Cooper has faced financial problems and debates over its management, with discussions about whether to sell it or reform its management. In 2021, the South Carolina General Assembly passed Act 90, maintaining its state-owned status but bringing it under the oversight of the South Carolina Public Service Commission. Santee Cooper continues to work towards improving its services, securing funding for projects to enhance South Carolina's electric grid and reduce outages, particularly in disadvantaged areas.
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Santee Cooper's Grid Resilience Grant Program
Santee Cooper is South Carolina's largest power and water utility and the ultimate source of electricity for 2 million people across the state. It also provides clean drinking water to more than 200,000 people. Santee Cooper is community-focused and offers its customers easy access to affordable, energy-efficient products, most at discounted prices or with automatic rebates.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has approved Santee Cooper's request for fiscal year 2024 funding of their Grid Resilience Grant program. The program was previously funded for 2022-2023 at a combined $10.4 million, with Santee Cooper contributing an additional $1.56 million. Santee Cooper is the state entity within South Carolina that administers the formula grant provided for South Carolina grid resilience under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Section 40101(d). The BIL grant program is expected to provide funding for five years. Santee Cooper has secured final approval for 18 projects, totaling $10.8 million in funding, submitted to its Grid Resilience Grant Program. These projects will improve the resilience of the electric grid and help prevent or mitigate natural hazard disruptions.
The projects submitted to and approved by the DOE represent funding available for federal fiscal years 2022 and 2023. Santee Cooper and independent consultant Guidehouse reviewed the project submissions and approved them for full funding. The projects include:
- Burying approximately two miles of power lines feeding the Kings Mountain State Park, almost entirely inside the State Park (York Electric Cooperative, Inc. Project 5: $206,855)
- Rebuilding four miles of overhead distribution lines serving a wastewater treatment plant in a remote area that has experienced extended outages (Fairfield Electric Cooperative, Inc. Project 2: $900,000)
- Deploying technology to locate, predict, and prevent issues on the electrical grid
- Installing self-healing devices on existing poles along major transportation corridors, allowing automated restoration within seconds for outages between these devices
- Installing distribution management and automation systems to automatically clear instantaneous and short-duration faults
Laurens Electric Cooperative is a customer of Santee Cooper. Santee Cooper is state-owned and electric cooperatives like Laurens Electric are its largest customer.
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$18.86 $22.42
Santee Cooper's energy-saving shop
Santee Cooper is South Carolina's largest power and water utility. It provides its customers with energy-saving solutions for their homes and businesses. The company offers a range of products and services to help reduce energy consumption and lower energy bills.
Santee Cooper's online one-stop energy-saving shop provides customers with easy access to affordable, energy-efficient products, most of which are offered at discounted prices or with automatic rebates. The shop includes instant incentives and rebates on a range of products, such as smart thermostats, LED light bulbs, advanced power strips, and water-saving devices. These products can help customers reduce their energy consumption and lower their environmental impact.
The company also offers a range of programmes and initiatives to help customers save energy and money. For example, the "Defeat the Peak" initiative encourages customers to shift their use of energy-intensive appliances, such as clothes dryers, dishwashers, and water heaters, to off-peak hours. By doing so, customers can reduce their energy consumption during peak demand periods and lower their energy bills.
Santee Cooper also provides tips and advice on energy conservation through its website and mobile app, MEL (My Energy Link). Customers can find information on a variety of energy-saving topics, such as proper insulation, energy-efficient appliances, and smart thermostat settings. Additionally, Santee Cooper offers rebates, low-interest loans, and house calls to help customers identify areas where they can improve their energy efficiency and make informed decisions about energy-saving upgrades.
Furthermore, Santee Cooper has implemented initiatives to improve the resilience of South Carolina's electric grid. The company has secured funding for projects that aim to reduce the number of outages and improve restoration times, particularly in disadvantaged areas of the state. These projects include burying overhead power lines, deploying fault location and isolation technology, and adding self-healing equipment to improve restoration abilities during extreme weather events.
By offering a range of energy-saving products, programmes, and resources, Santee Cooper's energy-saving shop helps customers reduce their energy consumption, lower their energy bills, and contribute to a more sustainable future.
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Santee Cooper's history
Santee Cooper, officially known as the South Carolina Public Service Authority, is a state-owned electric and water utility company that was established in the 1930s. Its mission is to be South Carolina's leading resource for improving the quality of life for all its residents.
In the 1930s, South Carolina Governor Ibra Blackwood signed a bill that established the Santee Cooper Project, bringing electricity to rural South Carolina. The project aimed to create two large reservoirs, Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie, and dam the Santee River to divert the water into the Cooper River. It also involved the construction of a hydroelectric plant at Pinopolis, now known as the Jefferies Hydroelectric Station. With over 12,500 workers, the Santee Cooper Project was the largest land-clearing project in US history, clearing over 177,000 acres of swamp and forestland. The project included the construction of 42 miles of dams and dikes, with the Pinopolis Dam featuring the highest single-lift lock in the world. The project caused ecological disruptions, as the formerly saline Cooper River became fresh, and the Santee River changed from fresh to saline.
Santee Cooper is headquartered in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, and is one of the largest power providers in the state. It serves more than 165,000 residential and commercial customers in Berkeley, Georgetown, and Horry counties. With a diverse fuel and energy supply, Santee Cooper supplies power to Bamberg, Georgetown, Charleston Air Force Base, and 30 large industrial customers.
In recent years, Santee Cooper has faced challenges and debates regarding its management and financial problems. The South Carolina General Assembly has discussed whether to privatize or reform the utility, with a focus on its independence and debt. Despite these discussions, Santee Cooper remains state-owned and continues to provide power and water services to its customers.
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Santee Cooper's ownership
Santee Cooper is South Carolina's largest power and water utility provider. It is a state-owned utility and is the ultimate source of electricity for 2 million people across the state.
Santee Cooper is governed by a 14-member Board of Directors. Twelve members are appointed by the Governor, deemed fully qualified by the Senate Public Utilities Review Committee, and confirmed by the state Senate. These include one member from each of South Carolina's congressional districts and one from each of the three counties (Berkeley, Georgetown, and Horry) where Santee Cooper serves retail customers directly. Additionally, two Directors must have previous experience in electric cooperatives, and a Chairman is appointed at large.
The Board of Directors is responsible for appointing the President and CEO of Santee Cooper, who oversees the day-to-day operations of the utility. In December 2021, the Board approved the hiring of Jimmy Staton, a utility executive with extensive experience in electric and natural gas operations.
Santee Cooper provides affordable, reliable, and environmentally responsible electricity and water services to its customers. It also offers various initiatives and programs to help its customers save energy and money, such as its online one-stop energy-saving shop, which offers discounted prices on energy-efficient products.
In addition to serving residential customers, Santee Cooper also works closely with electric cooperatives and municipal utilities across South Carolina. For example, Santee Cooper provided $10.8 million in funding for 18 projects aimed at improving grid resilience and reducing outages, particularly in disadvantaged areas of the state.
Overall, Santee Cooper plays a crucial role in providing power and water services to the people of South Carolina and is governed by a combination of state officials and industry experts who work together to ensure the safe and reliable delivery of these essential services.
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Frequently asked questions
Laurens Electric Cooperative is not part of Santee Cooper, but it has received funding from Santee Cooper in the form of a Grid Resilience Grant.
Santee Cooper, officially known as the South Carolina Public Service Authority, is South Carolina's state-owned electric and water utility. It serves over 165,000 residential and commercial customers in Berkeley, Georgetown, and Horry counties.
The Santee Cooper Grid Resilience Grant Program provides funding for projects that improve the resilience of South Carolina's electric grid, particularly in disadvantaged areas of the state.
