Defying conventional wisdom

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When South Carolina's electric cooperatives formed nearly 75 years ago, they faced a monumental task. Most of the state had no electricity and providing service to rural areas was going to be a costly and difficult task. Undaunted, the men and women of our first co-ops rolled up their sleeves and worked together to make life better for their fellow citizens.

Defying “conventional wisdom,” they went on to build South Carolina’s largest utility network—more than 70,000 miles of power lines covering 70 percent of the state’s landmass. Today, our state’s 20 co-ops serve 1.5 million South Carolinians in all 46 counties with affordable, reliable electric power, and it’s clear that the quality of life we enjoy today would not have been possible without the work that began in the 1930s. By electrifying vast areas of the state, co-ops did more than improve the lives of farmers and families; they also brought industry and jobs to rural South Carolina.

In 2012, electric cooperatives are once again creating new economic opportunities for our members.

With a state unemployment rate of 9.5 percent, South Carolina’s top economic priority has to be job creation. Fortunately, recruiting new businesses to South Carolina has long been part of the co-op DNA. Working on both the state and local level, our cooperatives help companies find suitable industrial sites across South Carolina. The state-level effort, commonly known as the South Carolina Power Team, has attracted billions of dollars in capital investment and thousands of jobs to the state, and just as co-ops defied the odds in the 1930s, we plan to make even greater advances today.

On Feb. 1, we launched an exciting initiative to lure new employers to South Carolina. Co-ops will now offer businesses that relocate to the Palmetto State an economic development rate that could save as much as 20 percent on their electricity costs for the first four years of operation.  To qualify for the rate, a business must create at least 35 new jobs or invest a minimum of $500,000 per 1,000 kilowatts of demand into new or existing facilities served by a cooperative. Our experience in recruiting industry shows that incentives that boost the early-year profitability of new facilities leads to stable, long-term employment growth, so by helping businesses succeed and hire more South Carolinians today, we can create a wave of economic benefits that extend far beyond the new paychecks generated every two weeks. More money spent in local economies is a rising tide that lifts all boats, spurs new business opportunities and supports the local tax bases that fund our public schools. The ripple effects can benefit South Carolina for generations to come.

In the same way that we can look back and see the lasting benefits of the work electric co-ops began in the 1930s, I believe future South Carolinians will note 2012 as the start of a new era of economic growth in South Carolina. By virtue of our not-for-profit structure, our ethic of service to community and the strength of our statewide network, South Carolina’s electric cooperatives are uniquely positioned to help grow our economy by incentivizing job creation, and we have the infrastructure in place to serve new industries in communities that need them the most.

For more information on the incentive program, contact your local electric cooperative or the South Carolina Power Team or (803) 254-9211.