Santee Cooper customers across South Carolina face higher electric bills if the utility's board approves a two-year rate increase plan Friday, Oct. 30.
The board is set to convene at 8 a.m. at Coastal Carolina University's Atheneum Hall in Conway to vote on the proposal, which would raise rates an average of 6.6 percent over two years for all retail customer classes, the Post and Courier reported.
If approved, the first round of increases would take effect Feb. 1, 2027. A second phase would follow Feb. 1, 2028.
For residential customers specifically, the proposed 2027 adjustment is a 4.7 percent increase and the proposed 2028 adjustment is 4.6 percent, according to Santee Cooper's rate study page. That works out to about $6.60 a month.
Santee Cooper is the state's largest power provider and the ultimate source of electricity for 2 million people across South Carolina, serving both retail customers directly and wholesale customers through cooperatives.
Why the utility says rates need to rise
Santee Cooper CEO Jimmy Staton said in July that the company has added more than 17,000 retail customers over the past three years as power demand continues to climb. Staton said at a community meeting in Moncks Corner that inflation is driving up the cost of materials needed to deliver power.
Staton also said Santee Cooper is pursuing cost mitigation efforts including off-grid battery storage, expansion of its Anderson County natural gas station and partnerships with other utilities, the Post and Courier reported.
The utility's 2026 Integrated Resource Plan, submitted to the S.C. Public Service Commission on Sept. 30, projects winter peak demand will be 1,250 megawatts higher by 2030 compared to its 2023 projections, according to a Santee Cooper news release.
Customers pushed back at public hearings
Since announcing the proposed hikes in May, Santee Cooper received more than 300 written comments. The utility also held public hearings where officials heard primarily from older and fixed-income residential customers worried about the financial impact, the Post and Courier reported.
Myrtle Beach resident Reuben Hyman, who has lived in the city since 1944, told an Aug. 31 public hearing that he balances his wardrobe carefully between seasons to limit his air conditioning and heating use.
"I understand about having to increase prices. I've been in the restaurant business. I've been in the clothing business. There's times when you have to do those things, but you also have to be considerate about your customers," Hyman said.
What changes for residential billing
The proposal also restructures how demand charges are calculated. Under the current system, billing is based on a single highest-hour charge. The new "Balanced Demand Billing" would instead charge customers based on the average of their maximum hourly use during the four highest peak periods each month, according to Santee Cooper's rate study. That change is meant to reduce the impact of isolated spikes in electricity usage.
The Santee Cooper board received the proposed rate changes on May 1 and approved a public comment process giving customers several months to review and respond. The vote Friday in Conway will determine whether the increases move forward.
