Key takeaways
- 42 community-owned utilities: 21 municipal utilities, 1 state-owned utility and 20 electric cooperatives reported bundled retail sales in South Carolina in 2024.
- Together they served 1,335,268 of the state's 2,998,873 bundled retail customers (45%); 4 investor-owned utilities served most of the rest.
- The largest public power utility is South Carolina Public Service Authority, with 216,494 customers.
- The largest electric co-op is Berkeley Electric Coop Inc, with 133,248 customers.
Every public power utility and co-op in South Carolina
Ranked by bundled retail customers in 2024, with retail sales in megawatt-hours and average price in cents per kilowatt-hour. Names are as EIA abbreviates them. Filter by type or search.
Showing all 42 utilities
| # | Utility | Type | Customers | Sales, MWh | Avg. price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina Public Service Authority | State-owned | 216,494 | 10,086,715 | 7.25¢ |
| 2 | Berkeley Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | 133,248 | 5,003,182 | 9.60¢ |
| 3 | Horry Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | 99,014 | 1,379,582 | 13.27¢ |
| 4 | Palmetto Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | 80,015 | 1,549,535 | 12.32¢ |
| 5 | Blue Ridge Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | 72,913 | 1,165,068 | 16.68¢ |
| 6 | York Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | 70,313 | 1,177,236 | 12.35¢ |
| 7 | Laurens Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 64,665 | 1,160,961 | 13.61¢ |
| 8 | Mid-Carolina Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | 60,566 | 1,043,096 | 14.28¢ |
| 9 | Aiken Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | 52,839 | 993,900 | 13.49¢ |
| 10 | Santee Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 44,855 | 1,147,989 | 11.44¢ |
| 11 | City of Rock Hill | Municipal | 40,379 | 851,823 | 12.39¢ |
| 12 | MPD Electric Cooperative | Cooperative | 38,612 | 1,745,865 | 8.43¢ |
| 13 | Greer Commission of Public Wks | Municipal | 35,307 | 446,491 | 11.60¢ |
| 14 | Black River Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 34,833 | 722,089 | 12.46¢ |
| 15 | Fairfield Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 34,232 | 672,012 | 12.70¢ |
| 16 | City of Orangeburg | Municipal | 24,461 | 746,727 | 12.56¢ |
| 17 | Broad River Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 24,448 | 413,180 | 14.37¢ |
| 18 | Lynches River Elec Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 22,362 | 477,992 | 12.68¢ |
| 19 | Edisto Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 21,317 | 383,513 | 15.22¢ |
| 20 | Tri-County Electric Coop, Inc (SC) | Cooperative | 18,466 | 300,559 | 17.51¢ |
| 21 | Easley Combined Utility System | Municipal | 17,414 | 304,944 | 12.51¢ |
| 22 | Little River Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | 15,372 | 194,458 | 16.37¢ |
| 23 | Greenwood CPW | Municipal | 14,742 | 283,795 | 8.00¢ |
| 24 | Newberry Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 13,737 | 473,598 | 10.64¢ |
| 25 | Coastal Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | 12,233 | 182,410 | 16.37¢ |
| 26 | City of Camden | Municipal | 11,673 | 169,872 | 15.82¢ |
| 27 | City of Seneca | Municipal | 8,154 | 139,695 | 12.96¢ |
| 28 | City of Gaffney | Municipal | 7,665 | 218,205 | 13.04¢ |
| 29 | City of Union | Municipal | 6,988 | 125,549 | 14.43¢ |
| 30 | City of Laurens | Municipal | 5,513 | 108,711 | 12.05¢ |
| 31 | City of Newberry | Municipal | 5,458 | 163,380 | 14.83¢ |
| 32 | City of Georgetown | Municipal | 5,440 | 105,891 | 12.85¢ |
| 33 | City of Bennettsville | Municipal | 4,800 | 86,000 | 13.47¢ |
| 34 | Clinton Combined Utility Sys | Municipal | 4,324 | 102,179 | 15.36¢ |
| 35 | City of Abbeville | Municipal | 3,534 | 57,404 | 14.38¢ |
| 36 | Town of Winnsboro | Municipal | 3,182 | 55,021 | 15.55¢ |
| 37 | Bamberg Board of Public Works | Municipal | 1,781 | 38,182 | 12.48¢ |
| 38 | City of Westminster | Municipal | 1,521 | 26,201 | 15.97¢ |
| 39 | Town of McCormick | Municipal | 1,072 | 16,366 | 17.46¢ |
| 40 | Town of Prosperity | Municipal | 824 | 11,835 | 13.42¢ |
| 41 | City of Due West | Municipal | 488 | 14,183 | 9.67¢ |
| 42 | Haywood Electric Member Corp | Cooperative | 14 | 118 | 17.63¢ |
Public power vs. co-ops in South Carolina
- Public power utilities — municipal utilities, public utility districts and state-owned utilities — are owned by the communities they serve and governed by a city council or elected board. They buy much like local governments: through public bids, board approvals and published budgets.
- Electric cooperatives are private, not-for-profit utilities owned by their members, who elect the board. Most buy power from a generation and transmission (G&T) co-op and make purchasing decisions through their own policies, often faster than public agencies.
Both publish their plans: watch board and council agendas, budgets, capital improvement plans and rate filings. Our utility funding tracker and rate case & IRP tracker show where the money is coming from.
Selling to South Carolina utilities
- Start with the right person. Line, engineering, metering, IT and member-services managers usually define the need; the general manager or CEO and the board approve large purchases.
- Use the networks. State public power and cooperative associations, joint action agencies and G&T co-ops shape purchasing and share vendor experiences.
- Expect small teams. Many of the utilities on this list have only a handful of staff, so phone outreach and a clear reason to talk matter.
Read our guide to how public power, co-ops and water utilities buy, or see the largest public power utilities and largest electric co-ops nationally.
About this data
- Source. EIA's "2024 Utility Bundled Retail Sales – Total" (Table 10), from forms EIA-861 and EIA-861S. Average price is EIA's revenue divided by sales.
- Bundled customers only. The table counts customers who buy both energy and delivery from the utility, so it excludes distribution-only utilities and customers who buy energy from another supplier in retail-choice areas.
- Community-owned utilities only. This page lists municipal, public utility district, state-owned and cooperative utilities. Investor-owned and federal utilities are left out.
Sources
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2024 Utility Bundled Retail Sales – Total (Table 10): eia.gov