MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – Today, the Santee Cooper Board of Directors received modified proposed rates from management after a months-long public input process. The Board will review the updated proposed rates and vote on them Dec. 9. If approved, the rate changes will take effect in April 2025 and would be the first increase in base rates since 2017.
“Our team reviewed customer comments and analyzed key areas of concern, and we made changes to the proposed rates to help mitigate potential customer impacts,” said Jimmy Staton, President and CEO of Santee Cooper. “We greatly appreciate the robust feedback from the transparent public comment process.”
The typical residential customer will see an average $11 increase in their monthly bill. However, customers will have flexibility to reduce their monthly bills by staggering when they use energy-intensive appliances, including their clothes dryer and hot water heater.
Modifications to the rates originally proposed in June include:
A 20% lower demand charge (from $10.03 to $8.00 per kW for the peak hour each month when a customer uses the most electricity) and slightly higher energy charge for residential customers on the RG rate. Peak hours, which were not modified, are 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. April through October and 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. November through March.
A shorter period for peak hours for the RT, or residential time-of-use, rate to mirror RG peak hours, and slightly higher on-peak and off-peak energy charges for residential customers on the RT rate.
A nearly 30% lower demand charge (from $17.08 to $12.21) and higher energy charge for small commercial customers on the GA rate.
An Experimental Rate for low-load factor/low-usage commercial customers.
Modifications also were made to proposed industrial rates.
Even with these recommended modifications, the proposed rates allow for Santee Cooper to address a projected revenue shortfall while keeping projected customers’ monthly bills below the state and national averages. Santee Cooper needs to invest in its electric system to maintain excellent reliability for customers and comply with new regulations.
Customers can learn more about Santee Cooper’s proposed rates and use website’s rate calculator to see how their bills could be impacted at www.santeecooper.com/ratestudy .