Santee Cooper seeking public input on proposed rate increase

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (WCBD)- Santee Cooper is considering raising rates for the first time in more than five years, and Lowcountry customers will have a chance to weigh in on the proposal Monday evening.

The utility company, which serves more than 200,000 customers in Berkeley, Georgetown, and Horry counties, is seeking approval for its first rate increase since April 2017.

The proposal would include an 8.7% increase for residential customers, a 4.1% increase for commercial customers, a 5.0% increase for lighting customers, and a 2.8% increase for industrial customers.

The company said updates are needed to its electric system, citing inflation as a primary factor for the proposed rate hike.

“When inflation is combined with investments necessary to comply with regulations related to the environment, grid operations and security – all while continuing to provide reliability that is among the best in the country – Santee Cooper is pressed into a position where current rates won’t provide enough funds to meet our costs,” the company’s website states.

The proposal also includes recommendations for a new three-part rate structure which would allow some residential customers to pay only for their share of the total electricity provided during peak times.

Officials said this would give customers more control over their electricity bills.

“This new rate structure gives customers the ability to actually lower their bills, depending on current and future energy consumption habits,” President and CEO Jimmy Staton said in June. “If a family starts dinner at 5 p.m. every summer afternoon by turning on an oven that takes 5 kilowatts of electricity, they add $50 to their monthly demand charge. But if that family waits until 6 p.m. to turn the oven on every day, or uses a slow cooker that takes much less electricity, they save that $50. If they adjust when they use the dishwasher or other high-demand appliances, they save even more.”

The company’s board of directors is slated to meet in December to vote on the proposal, but residents will have several opportunities to give feedback in the months ahead.

A public meeting will be held on Monday, Aug. 26 at the Santee Cooper Headquarters Auditorium (1 Riverwood Drive) in Moncks Corner beginning at 6 p.m.

Three additional in-person public meetings and one virtual hearing will be held between Sept. 17 and Oct. 9. More information can be found here.

Customers can attend the hearings to voice their opinions about the rate increase proposals or submit written comments by Sept. 9.

If approved, the new rates would take effect in April 2025.