Santee Cooper

What Santee Cooper does

Santee Cooper, formally the South Carolina Public Service Authority, is the state of South Carolina's largest public power utility, founded in 1934 as a New Deal-era rural electrification project. Headquartered in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, the utility directly serves over 200,000 retail electricity customers across Berkeley, Georgetown, and Horry counties, and provides wholesale power to Central Electric Power Cooperative (its largest customer), which distributes to 20 electric cooperatives across the state, plus multiple municipal utilities. In total, approximately 2 million South Carolinians receive power from Santee Cooper directly or indirectly, and the utility also supplies 27 large industrial facilities, wholesale water to four counties, and drinking water to more than 200,000 people through its regional water systems.

The utility operates a diversified generation portfolio spanning hydroelectric (Jefferies Station, operational since 1942), natural gas, nuclear, solar, and battery storage (including the planned 300 MW/1,200 MWh Pinopolis BESS with Aypa Power). Santee Cooper is pursuing a major capacity transformation: adding 2,100+ MW of solar and 1,020 MW of natural gas generation over the next decade, retiring over 1,100 MW of coal, reviving the V.C. Summer AP1000 nuclear project with Brookfield Asset Management ($2.7 billion deal), and partnering with Dominion Energy on the 2,200 MW Canadys Station. On the technology side, the utility modernized its customer operations platform with Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service (delivered by Red Clay Consulting), cutting batch jobs by 50% and nightly billing by three hours.

Santee Cooper makes money primarily through subscription/recurring revenue streams: retail electric sales to residential and commercial customers under monthly billing with peak-hour demand charges (April-October), wholesale electric contracts with cooperatives and municipalities, long-term power supply agreements with industrial customers (including a Century Aluminum agreement through 2031), and wholesale water sales. The utility pursues economic development as a core mission, helping bring over $25 billion in capital investment and 94,000 jobs to South Carolina since 1988. As a state-owned entity, it operates under a 14-member Board (12 gubernatorial appointees plus two ex officio members) without traditional equity ownership.

Name

Santee Cooper

Legal name

South Carolina Public Service Authority

Website

https://santeecooper.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1934

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Santee Cooper is South Carolina's state-owned electric and water utility, founded in 1934, serving over 200,000 retail customers directly and approximately 2 million South Carolinians indirectly through wholesale partnerships with 20 electric cooperatives, municipalities, and 27 large industrial facilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electric and Water Utility Services

NAICS

Credit Unions (522130)

SIC

Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Credit Unions (Retail/Consumer Focus) (FSABAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Agricultural & Rural Cooperatives (Farm Credit/Co-op Banks) (FSABAEAG)

Keywords

• Electric utility services
• Wholesale power distribution
• Water utility services
• Renewable energy generation
• Energy efficiency programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Moncks Corner

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail Electric Sales: Direct electricity sales to over 200,000 retail customers in Berkeley, Georgetown and Horry counties
2. Wholesale Electric Sales: Wholesale power supply to Central Electric Power Cooperative, cities of Bamberg and Georgetown, Piedmont Municipal Power Agency, and Alabama Municipal Electric Authority
3. Industrial Power Agreements: Power supply agreements with 27 large industrial facilities including Century Aluminum
4. Wholesale Water Sales: Wholesale water supply to consumers in Berkeley, Calhoun, Dorchester and Orangeburg counties and the Town of Santee

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Santee Cooper (South Carolina Public Service Authority) is a state-owned public utility that generates, transmits, and distributes electricity and water to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers across South Carolina. It serves over 200,000 retail customers directly in Berkeley, Georgetown and Horry counties and provides wholesale electricity and water to electric cooperatives, municipal utilities, and 27 large industrial facilities, supplying power directly or indirectly to approximately 2 million people.

Product overview

Santee Cooper operates as a single unified utility service provider offering electricity and water services to South Carolina. The product portfolio consists of a core customer service platform (MEL/My Energy Link) supported by various add-on programs and modules including energy efficiency programs (EmpowerHome, EmpowerBusiness), renewable energy initiatives (EmpowerSolar, 2026 Solar RFP), EV programs (EmpowerAuto), demand response (Defeat The Peak, Santee Cooper Rewards), and a customer marketplace. The utility also provides AI-powered customer support through Chat with Cooper. All offerings are designed to serve residential and business customers while managing grid reliability and supporting South Carolina's energy infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MEL (My Energy Link): Customer service website and mobile app for account management, bill viewing, and energy use tracking.

Products and services

• Retail Electricity Service Direct electricity supply to over 200,000 retail customers in Berkeley, Georgetown and Horry counties, South Carolina. Includes monthly billing, customer service through MEL (My Energy Link), and access to energy efficiency, demand response, and rebate programs.
• Wholesale Electricity Supply

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranked 10th nationally for residential reliability among nearly 500 utilities
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• RWEminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 May 2026RWE is developing the Sandy Run Solar project in Cross community of Berkeley County, a 198-megawatt solar facility on approximately 1,500 acres that will work with Santee Cooper which faces an expected power shortfall by 2029.
• The Energy AuthorityminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 18 May 2026Santee Cooper issued 2026 Solar RFP through The Energy Authority RFP Marketplace, inviting qualified solar developers to submit proposals for utility-scaled photovoltaic projects through 2030.
• Dominion EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 May 2026Joint project with Dominion Energy to construct Canadys Station, a 2,200-megawatt natural gas combined-cycle generating facility in Colleton County on a former coal plant site. The project received approval from the Public Service Commission of South Carolina.
• The Nuclear Company (TNC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2026The Nuclear Company and Brookfield formed a joint venture selected as project manager for the V.C. Summer nuclear project in Fairfield County, South Carolina. The new company specializes in Westinghouse reactor technology (AP1000 and AP300) with end-to-end project management, licensing support, and construction oversight.
• Century AluminumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2026Power agreement with Century Aluminum extending through 2031 for their Mt. Holly, South Carolina aluminum smelter expansion, enabling restart of over 50,000 metric tons of idled capacity.
• OraclecoreTechnology or Integration · 8 April 2026Santee Cooper implemented Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service to modernize its customer operations platform, consolidating billing, customer management, and operational processes. Migration delivered measurable improvements including 50% reduction in daily batch job execution time.
• Red Clay ConsultingcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 8 April 2026Red Clay Consulting delivered the Oracle Utilities Customer Cloud Service implementation for Santee Cooper, enabling modernization of customer billing and operations platform.
• Aypa PowerminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 December 2025Aypa Power will build, own, and operate the Pinopolis Reliability Project, a 300MW/1,200MWh lithium iron phosphate battery energy storage system in South Carolina, expected to be the largest battery storage installation in the state.
• Central Electric Power CooperativecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSantee Cooper's largest customer, Central Electric Power Cooperative distributes wholesale power to 20 electric cooperatives across South Carolina, serving rural communities.
• Kinder MorgancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPipeline partnership for the Bridge Project, a $431 million, 71-mile natural gas pipeline through Hampton and Colleton counties to supply the proposed Canadys Station power plant.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Southern Company: Large investor-owned electric utility holding company serving Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Comparable diversified generation portfolio (including nuclear), regulated monopoly service territories, and large-scale industrial customer base.
• NextEra Energy: Largest renewable energy generator in North America with regulated Florida utility subsidiary. Comparable in aggressive renewable/solar build-out strategy, battery storage development, and large-scale generation planning.
• Duke Energy: Largest electric utility in the Southeast US serving the Carolinas. Comparable in generation mix, customer segments (residential, commercial, industrial), regulatory oversight, and economic development role across overlapping South Carolina service territory.
• American Electric Power (AEP): One of the largest US electric utilities with transmission operations across 11 states. Comparable diversified generation portfolio including coal, natural gas, nuclear, and renewables, with similar coal retirement and transition planning.
• Xcel Energy: Investor-owned utility serving 8 Midwestern and Western states. Comparable in aggressive clean energy transition, large renewable build-out plans, and integrated electricity and natural gas operations.

Emerging players

• Brookfield Renewable Partners: Brookfield subsidiary and Santee Cooper's V.C. Summer nuclear partner. Comparable through Brookfield's $2.7 billion MOU to complete the AP1000 units and adjacent renewable development activity in South Carolina.

Direct peers

• Entergy Corporation: Investor-owned electric utility serving Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas. Comparable customer mix including large industrial customers, nuclear generation exposure, and integrated T&D operations across the Southeast.
• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): Federal public power utility serving Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. Most directly comparable as another large publicly-owned power utility with diversified generation, integrated economic development mission, and absence of traditional shareholder structure.
• Dominion Energy: Major investor-owned electric utility serving the Southeast US. Directly comparable as Santee Cooper's joint venture partner on the Canadys Station natural gas project, with overlapping generation, transmission, and regulatory experience in South Carolina.
• Central Electric Power Cooperative: South Carolina's generation and transmission cooperative and Santee Cooper's largest wholesale customer. Comparable as a member-owned cooperative utility distributing wholesale power to 20 electric cooperatives across rural South Carolina.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/santeecooper
• YouTubeyoutube.com/santeecoopertv
• Facebookfacebook.com/santeecooper
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/santeecooper
• Instagraminstagram.com/santeecooper

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Santee Cooper