Broad River Electric Cooperative

What Broad River Electric Cooperative does

Broad River Electric Cooperative is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric distribution cooperative incorporated in South Carolina and headquartered at 1036 Webber Road in Cowpens. Founded in 1940 to electrify rural Upstate communities that for-profit utilities had bypassed, the cooperative distributes electricity to residential, commercial, and industrial members across Cherokee, Spartanburg, and Union counties, purchasing wholesale power from Central Electric Power Cooperative. Its core operational footprint consists of owned distribution lines, substations, and smart metering accessible through the SmartHub online and mobile platform, which supports billing, usage monitoring, outage reporting, and account management.

The cooperative's product set centers on standard residential and commercial electric service, layered with several optional programs: a June 2024 time-of-use rate structure with a $30 monthly grid access fee, an 8.27¢/kWh energy charge, and a $12/kW peak demand charge; Budget Billing and PrePay options; Community Solar and a Rooftop Solar Calculator; EV Destination Chargers at three sites; and a Smart Tiny House educational demonstration built with the Cherokee County Institute of Innovation. Revenue is derived from electricity distribution (recurring, usage-based plus fixed access fee) supplemented by capital-credit retirements to members.

Notable industrial customers include Oldcastle APG's Sakrete concrete facility, DHL's Webber Road distribution center, and Oshkosh Defense's $155 million USPS electric-vehicle manufacturing plant in Spartanburg. The cooperative participates in NRECA, the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Touchstone Energy, and the SC Power Team economic-development partnership, and supports community programs such as Operation Round Up (~`$100,000` in annual charitable donations), Bright Ideas educator grants, and student scholarships. A leadership transition is underway: CEO Terry Mallard is retiring after 39 years and is being succeeded by Chad Armstrong.

Name

Broad River Electric Cooperative

Legal name

Broad River Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Website

https://broadriverelectric.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1940

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Broad River Electric Cooperative is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric distribution cooperative serving residential, commercial, and industrial customers across Cherokee, Spartanburg, and Union counties in the South Carolina Upstate from its Cowpens headquarters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electric Utility Distribution

NAICS

Electric Power Transmission, Control, and Distribution (22112), Electric Power Distribution (221122), Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2211)

SIC

Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro primary industry

Electric Cooperatives (Rural/Member-Owned Utilities) (EUADABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Electric Distribution System Owners (Wires-Only Companies) (EUADABAI), Retail Electric Providers / Competitive Distribution Utilities (where applicable) (EUADABAE)

Keywords

• Electric utility distribution
• Rural electric cooperative
• Member-owned utility
• Smart grid services
• Electric power delivery

Headquarters

HQ city

Gaffney

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Electricity Distribution: As a not-for-profit electric cooperative, Broad River Electric generates revenue through electricity distribution to residential, commercial, and industrial members. Revenue comes from grid access fees, energy charges per kilowatt-hour, and peak demand charges. The cooperative buys power from Central Electric Power Cooperative and distributes it to end-user members.
2. Capital Credits: As a cooperative, excess revenue is returned to members as capital credits based on their electricity usage, reinforcing the member-owned business model.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Broad River Electric Cooperative distributes electricity purchased wholesale from Central Electric Power Cooperative to residential, commercial, and industrial members across Cherokee, Spartanburg, and Union counties in South Carolina. It supplements electricity distribution with the SmartHub billing and account management platform, rate programs (Time-of-Use, Budget Billing, PrePay, Energy Conservation), renewable energy options (Community Solar, Solar Calculator), EV Destination Chargers, and educational outreach through a Smart Tiny House demonstration.

Product overview

Broad River Electric Cooperative is a member-owned electric utility serving Cherokee, Spartanburg, and Union counties in South Carolina. The cooperative provides electricity distribution services through its core products: Residential and Commercial Electric Service, supplemented by SmartHub—a web and mobile application for bill payment, account management, usage monitoring, and outage reporting. The cooperative offers optional rate programs including a Time-of-Use Rate Structure that incentivizes off-peak energy usage, Budget Billing for predictable monthly bills, PrePay Accounts, and an Energy Conservation Rate for qualifying efficient homes. Renewable offerings include Community Solar and a Solar Calculator tool. The cooperative operates EV Destination Chargers at three locations and maintains a Smart Tiny House as an educational demonstration. Community programs include Operation Round Up (bill round-up charitable program), Bright Ideas Educator Grants, Student Scholarships, and Capital Credits (member patronage refunds).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SmartHub: Online billing and account management platform and mobile app for members to pay bills, manage energy use, and report service issues.
• Operation Round Up
• Bright Ideas Grants
• Broad River Electric Charities
• Touchstone Energy Cooperative

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.98% system reliability achieved in 2023
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Oshkosh DefensecoreOthers · 1 January 2023Oshkosh Defense is manufacturing electric and low-emission vehicles for the US Postal Service at a new plant in Flatwood Industrial Park in Spartanburg. The $155 million investment will bring over 1,000 jobs to the region. South Carolina's increased tax credits enabled this project.
• Voices for Cooperative Power (VCP)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023Nationwide community designed to help co-op consumer-members share their story with elected officials on energy policy issues affecting electric cooperatives.
• Cooperative Electric Energy Utility Supply (CEEUS)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Materials and equipment provider that partnered with SC electric cooperatives to sponsor the 'My Why' safety contest for lineworkers, donating glove bags for decoration.
• DHLcoreOthers · 1 January 2022DHL operates a distribution facility at Sunny Slope Industrial Park on Webber Road, employing over 250 local workers. Broad River Electric provides power distribution services to this industrial customer.
• Oldcastle APG (Sakrete)coreOthers · 1 January 2020Industrial account relationship where Broad River Electric provides power to Oldcastle's Sakrete concrete manufacturing facility located less than 1.5 miles from the cooperative's headquarters. The facility employs over 40 people and produces up to 40,000 sacks of concrete per day.
• Central Electric Power CooperativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBroad River Electric's generation and transmission provider. As a distribution utility, Broad River Electric relies on Central Electric Power Cooperative to contract with bulk power systems that generate and transmit power for distribution to members.
• Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina (ECSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStatewide association representing South Carolina's 20 electric cooperatives. ECSC provides legislative advocacy, training, and collective resources for cooperatives including Broad River Electric.
• National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization representing America's electric cooperatives. Provides advocacy, business and technology solutions, education, and research for electric cooperatives including Broad River Electric.
• New Horizon Electric CooperativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBroad River Electric Board Chairman Norris Fowler represents the cooperative on the board of directors for New Horizon Electric Cooperative.
• CEEUS, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoard member Mark Patterson represents Broad River Electric on the CEEUS, Inc. Board of Directors. CEEUS provides materials and equipment to electric cooperatives.
• SC Power TeamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEconomic development partnership providing regional resources and business recruitment services for the service territory.
• Cherokee County Institute of InnovationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBroad River Electric commissioned the building construction class to construct an 8x24 foot Smart Tiny House showcasing energy-efficient features and technologies for member education.
• Broad River LeathernecksminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal organization supporting Marine Corps veterans. Broad River Electric donates annually to the organization's scholarship fund.
• Upstate Warrior FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization planning to create a Veterans Resource Center in Spartanburg County. Broad River Electric donates to support their mission.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Duke Energy: Investor-owned utility operating across the Carolinas with overlapping service territory. Serves as a benchmark for rate competitiveness and demonstrates the scale advantage larger utilities hold over small co-ops.
• Central Electric Power Cooperative: Generation and transmission cooperative supplying wholesale power to Broad River Electric and other SC distribution co-ops. Functions as upstream supplier but is structurally aligned within the same cooperative ecosystem.
• Dominion Energy: Large investor-owned utility with operations across the Carolinas. Represents the broader competitive backdrop for cooperative utilities in the region and a benchmark for grid modernization scale.
• Santee Cooper: South Carolina state-owned electric and water utility that awards grid resilience grants to Broad River Electric. Comparable in providing generation/transmission services and is a key counterpart in the SC electricity ecosystem.

Direct peers

• Laurens Electric Cooperative: South Carolina cooperative serving Laurens, Union, and surrounding counties — overlapping with Broad River's Union County footprint and operating with comparable cooperative economics.
• Berkeley Electric Cooperative: Larger South Carolina electric cooperative serving the Lowcountry region. Directly comparable cooperative structure and Touchstone Energy affiliation, though operating at greater scale.
• York Electric Cooperative: South Carolina member-owned electric cooperative serving York, Lancaster, and Cherokee counties with residential, commercial, and industrial accounts through a similar Touchstone Energy-aligned model.
• Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative: South Carolina Touchstone Energy cooperative serving members in the Pickens, Oconee, and Anderson county area. Directly comparable in size, structure, and rural distribution mandate.
• Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative: South Carolina member-owned distribution cooperative serving the Midlands region. Comparable in scale, business model, and rural electric distribution mission to Broad River Electric.
• New Horizon Electric Cooperative: South Carolina electric cooperative that shares board representation with Broad River Electric via Chairman Norris Fowler. Operates as a similarly structured member-owned distribution cooperative in the state.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BroadRiverCoop
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/BroadRiverCoop
• Facebookfacebook.com/BroadRiverCoop
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/broad-river-electric-cooperative
• Instagraminstagram.com/broadrivercoop

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Broad River Electric Cooperative