SC electric utility’s rate is going up. How does Santee Cooper want to change power usage?
Santee Cooper’s more than 200,000 residential customers will see their rates go up next year after the state utility’s board of directors approved an electric rate hike under a rate structure that encourages customers to avoid using certain appliances at certain hours of day.
This is the first time rates have increased for the state agency since 2017. The agency agreed to a rate freeze in 2020 as part of a settlement agreement in a lawsuit over the failed V.C. Summer nuclear plant construction project.
The rate increase applies to about 220,000 customers, of which 205,000 are residential and commercial customers in Horry, Georgetown and Berkeley counties. The rate increases does not apply to wholesale customers such as the electric cooperatives.
The average residential customer who uses 1,000 kwh a month, could pay $10.72 more a month. But if the residential customer is able to adjust when they use certain appliances, that increase could only be $5.44 a more a month.
A Santee Cooper customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt hours a month, currently pays $115.69 a month.
The new rates go into effect in 2025 and customers will see the higher prices in their April bills.
Under the new rate structure, customers will be charged more for electricity used during peak hours. For winter months of November through March, the peak usage hours would be between 6 and 9 a.m. For the summer months of April through October peak time would be between 3 and 6 p.m.
Through its peak demand charge, Santee Cooper wants to encourage customers not to use high-energy appliances, such as ovens, dishwashers, dryers, water heaters and heat pumps during those peak hours. The utility wants to encourage customers to preheat and precool their homes outside of the peak times and use smart thermostats to set times to shift use.
Santee Cooper customers also will start seeing an adverting campaign in February reminding them of the new rates. Letters will go to customers in January.
Customers will be able look at the monthly energy usage on Santee Cooper’s website.
Santee Cooper staff have worked on the new rates since June 2023 and in recent months received public input.
After feedback, the electric utility decided to lower the demand charge and increase the energy charge to soften the impact of the of the rate increase.
“We had some questions about how our customers were going to respond to this rate, and how they were going to be able to understand what the rate would do to their bill,” said Michael Smith, the director of Budget, Billing and Pricing for Santee Cooper.
Santee Cooper has had the same rates since 2017, despite rising costs, the utility has said.
During that time, both Duke Energy and Dominion have had rate increases approved by the state’s Public Service Commission.
In order to control costs during that time period, Santee Cooper has refinanced debt in July to save $100 million, held off on $70 million in capital expenses and $30 million in operations and maintenance, and reduced its employee headcount through natural attrition by not replacing employees who left for other jobs or retired.
