Santee Cooper

About Us

Santee Cooper is South Carolina's state-owned electric and water utility. Known formally as the South Carolina Public Service Authority, we were created in 1934 as a rural electrification and public works project. The Santee-Cooper Hydroelectric and Navigation project was completed in February 1942 when Santee Cooper generated its first electricity. The project saw the creation of lakes Marion and Moultrie, along with 42 miles of dams and dikes and the world's highest single-lift navigation lock.

Santee Cooper is a public-power provider and South Carolina's largest electricity producer. We are the source of electricity for approximately 2 million people in all 46 counties of the state. We serve more than 168,000 residential and commercial customers directly in Berkeley, Georgetown and Horry counties. We also supply electricity to the state's 20 electric cooperatives, the cities of Bamberg and Georgetown, 28 large industrial customers, the Charleston Air Force Base, and the 10 member cities that form the Piedmont Municipal Power Agency.

Santee Cooper is South Carolina's leader in generating renewable power, with more than 132 megawatt online or under contract. We also are helping customers use less electricity through our Reduce The Use energy-efficiency program. We provide water to more than 75,000 customers through the Santee Cooper Regional Water System and Lake Marion Regional Water System.