During a tour of Berkeley Electric Cooperative’s warehouse, presidential candidate Nikki Haley learned how supply chain issues are challenging electric cooperatives. She was led on the tour by Berkeley Electric Cooperative CEO Mike Fuller (right), and Central Electric Power Cooperative CEO Rob Hochstetler (left).
Photo by Mic Smith
Keeping the lights on and electric rates low are what electric cooperatives are all about. Presidential candidate Nikki Haley pledged her commitment to the cause during a recent town hall discussion at her electric co-op.
On stage with Berkeley Electric Cooperative CEO Mike Fuller, Central Electric Power Cooperative CEO Rob Hochstetler and Santee Cooper CEO Jimmy Staton, Haley said she shared their vision for an all-of-the-above approach to South Carolina’s energy mix.
“The end goal is making sure we have reliable energy that is affordable for all of you, period,” Haley told 250 people at Berkeley Electric’s headquarters. “The problem is that there is a disconnect from (Washington) D.C. to what’s happening here on the ground.”
The utility leaders stressed that South Carolina’s power providers need help. The state is already facing a power crunch, thanks in part to higher energy demand due to population growth and economic development successes.
Yet expanding the energy supply has been challenging. Numerous obstacles stand in the way of building the power plants, pipelines and transmission lines necessary to bring electricity to the people and businesses that rely on it. Instead of alleviating those pressures, government agencies such as the EPA have pushed for even more burdensome regulations. Cooperatives are beginning to fight back.
“As much as we don’t like being part of the political process, some things are worth fighting for,” Fuller says. “We have to be the advocate and the voice for our members.”
If elected, Haley says she would roll back onerous regulations on power producers while allowing the free market—not government—to dictate the speed of the utility industry’s transition to a clean energy future. “Once you start doing those types of things, everyone wins,” Haley says. “Industry wins, families win, our country wins.”