SC utility Santee Cooper tweaks its new power rate hike

By John McDermott · Post and Courier

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Santee Cooper, South Carolina's state-owned utility, has revised its proposed electric rate increase scheduled for a board vote on December 9, 2024. The utility reduced peak demand charges for residential customers by 20 percent while increasing off-peak rates by 15 percent, responding to public feedback gathered at community meetings. The rate hike, the first since 2017, aims to address a projected $40 million revenue shortfall driven by inflation and infrastructure investment needs.

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Santee Cooper is revising the financial details of its first proposed electric rate increase since 2017, including a reduction in how much it will charge residential customers for using power during peak periods.

The state-owned utility board will vote on the changes on Dec. 9. If approved, the new pricing structure will take effect April 1.

Santee Cooper said that it was responding to "robust" feedback its gathered over past few months at public meetings.

"Our team reviewed customer comments and analyzed key areas of concern, and we made changes to the proposed rates to help mitigate potential customer impacts," CEO Jimmy Staton said in a Nov. 7 prepared statement.

Santee Cooper announced June 10 it was is looking to raise its electric retail prices, projecting bills will climb nearly 8.6 percent for residential customers. The utility said the rate hike is needed to offset a projected $40 million revenue deficit next year, partly caused by inflation.

For Santee Cooper's roughly 215,000 household accounts in Berkeley, Georgetown and Horry counties, they'll be able to offset or minimize the impact by not using major appliances such as stoves, dryers and water heaters during three-hour windows in the mornings and late afternoons.

Among the changes to the plan announced in June is a 20 percent reduction in the peak demand charge for "general" residential customers, who had complained that the proposed "penalty" was excessive.

Santee Cooper would offset that with a 15 percent increase for electricity used at any other time.

For other residential customers, who are charged based on when they use power, their higher-cost billing periods would be reduced to three hours twice daily from four hours. In exchange they'd pay 7 percent to 15 percent more for power, depending on the time, than what Santee Cooper proposed in June.

The Moncks Corner-based utility is also seeking to make its peak usage windows the same for both classes of household billpayers: 6-9 a.m. November through March and 3-6 p.m. between April and October.

Santee Cooper said all of the residential pricing tweaks are "revenue neutral," meaning they're not expected to change the total amount of money it expects to collect under the new rates.

The utility also proposed several revisions for its commercial and industrial customers based on their feedback.

"Even with these recommended modifications, the proposed rates allow for Santee Cooper to address a projected revenue shortfall while keeping projected ... monthly bills below the state and national averages," it said in statement.

The utility has been operating under a rate freeze that state lawmakers imposed after its involvement in the failed expansion of the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in 2017. The lockdown lifts Dec. 31.

Santee Cooper said it needs to generate more revenue to invest in its electric system to meet demand, maintain reliability and comply with new regulations.

Contact John McDermott at 843-937-5572 or follow him on Twitter at @byjohnmcdermott