Tri-County co-op’s greed demands legislative action, and it’ll get it

We have been ignoring utilities in our state for far too long, and they have been taking advantage of our lack of oversight. I was shocked by the situation at V.C. Summer, overseen by SCANA and Santee Cooper, and now I’m equally troubled by the management of our local utility.

As we’ve learned more about the trouble at Tri-County Electric Cooperative, person after person has complained to me about the way members of the Tri-County board of trustees paid themselves for their part-time service. This money could and should have been used to lower electric bills for the people who elected them.

Tri-County is a small cooperative with just more than 13,600 customers in six counties. These members elect a part-time board of trustees to make important decisions for the cooperative.

It was shocking to learn that the Tri-County board pays itself excessively more than other electric cooperative boards in our state. In some cases, more than double that of other directors doing the exact same work. This is unacceptable.

Let me be clear: The board at Tri-County is separate and distinct from the employees at Tri-County. The linemen and other employees are some of the hardest working people I know. They often work around the clock, many times in dangerous conditions, to ensure our lights stay on. CEO Chad Lowder has assured me that he and his staff do not see this excessive pay as appropriate and are committed to doing what’s in the best interest of the customers. I believe that should include a thorough review of these practices and adoption of new policies.

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When the General Assembly meets again later this month, I will file a bill that requires board members to disclose their compensation and to post the minutes of board meetings so all members can clearly know what the people they elect are doing.

As the vice chair of the House Utility Ratepayer Protection Committee and as a member of the energy caucus, I will continue to fight for meaningful regulatory reform at the state and local levels. We all must demand better accountability from our electricity providers. We are the ones forced to buy our electricity from utilities that have no competition.

The co-op is supposed to belong to us. When we do nothing, we allow this kind of behavior to not only continue, but also flourish.

The State publishes a cross section of the letters we receive from South Carolinians in order to provide a forum for our community and also to allow our community to get a good look at itself, for good or bad. The letters represent the views of the letter writers, not necessarily of The State.

This story was originally published May 31, 2018 at 9:14 AM with the headline "Tri-County co-op’s greed demands legislative action, and it’ll get it."