How South Carolina Electric Cooperatives Work

Electric cooperatives are member-owned electric utilities. The people and businesses that receive electricity from a cooperative are also its members and owners.

South Carolina's electric cooperatives provide electric service to homes, farms, businesses and industries throughout the state. They operate on a not-for-profit, cost-of-service basis and are governed by boards elected by their members. Find your electric cooperative.

 

What is an electric cooperative?

An electric cooperative is a utility owned by the members it serves. Unlike an investor-owned utility, which is owned by shareholders, an electric cooperative is owned by its consumer-members.

Members elect representatives to serve on their cooperative's board of trustees. The board establishes policies and oversees the cooperative on behalf of its members.

 

How many electric cooperatives are in South Carolina?

There are 19 consumer-owned electric distribution cooperatives in South Carolina—18 of those cooperatives belong to the statewide trade association, The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina (ECSC). Together, the cooperatives serve more than 850,000 electric accounts in all 46 South Carolina counties, providing electricity to nearly 2 million people.

 

How do electric cooperatives make money?

Electric cooperatives operate on a not-for-profit, cost-of-service basis.

That means the cooperative's rates are designed to recover the cost of providing electric service, including the cost of purchasing or generating electricity, maintaining power lines and equipment, serving members, paying employees and meeting other operating expenses.

When revenues exceed the cooperative's costs and required reserves, the resulting margins may be allocated to members as capital credits.

 

What are capital credits?

Capital credits represent a member's share of the cooperative's allocated margins.

Because members own their cooperative, they may receive capital credits when the cooperative's financial condition and board policies allow for their retirement. The timing and amount of capital-credit distributions vary by cooperative.

 

How are electric cooperative service territories determined?

Electric utilities in South Carolina operate within specific service territories established under state law.

Defined service territories help prevent multiple utilities from unnecessarily building competing electric infrastructure in the same area.

 

Where do South Carolina's electric cooperatives provide service?

South Carolina's electric cooperatives serve communities in all 46 counties.

Cooperatives primarily serve small towns, rural communities, farms, suburban areas and growing communities. Individual cooperatives may serve portions of multiple counties.

 

Why were electric cooperatives created?

Electric cooperatives developed during the 1930s and 1940s to bring electricity to communities that had limited access to electric service.

In many rural areas, the cost of extending power lines to a relatively small number of consumers made electric service difficult to provide through traditional utility business models. Residents organized cooperatives to bring electricity to their communities.
 

How do electric cooperatives support their communities?

Because electric cooperatives are owned by people who live in the communities they serve, community involvement is an important part of the cooperative business model.

South Carolina's electric cooperatives support their communities through programs such as scholarships, charitable giving, economic development, educational programs, volunteer organizations and initiatives such as Operation Round Up.

 

How do electric cooperatives support economic development?

Electric cooperatives invest in infrastructure and work with local and state economic-development organizations to attract and retain businesses and industries, particularly in rural areas.

The South Carolina Power Team, created by the state's independent electric cooperatives and Santee Cooper, focuses on economic-development opportunities in rural communities.

 

How are electric cooperatives different from investor-owned utilities?

The primary difference is ownership.

Electric cooperative: Owned by the members it serves.

Investor-owned utility: Owned by shareholders.

Public power utility: Owned by a government entity.

All three types of utilities provide electric service, but their ownership structures and governance models differ.

 

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