Santee Cooper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Santee Cooper | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Type | State-owned utility |
| Founded | 1934 |
| Headquarters | Moncks Corner, SC |
| Industry | Electric Utility |
| Website | Santee Cooper |
Santee Cooper, also known as the South Carolina Public Service Authority, is South Carolina's state-owned electric and water utility. Its headquarters are located in Moncks Corner, South Carolina.
As one of the largest power providers in South Carolina, Santee Cooper directly serves more than 156,000 residential and commercial customers in Berkeley, Georgetown, and Horry counties. With a diverse fuel and energy supply of coal, nuclear, oil, gas and hydro, Santee Cooper supplies power to the cities of Bamberg and Georgetown, 32 large industrial customers, and Charleston Air Force Base. Santee Cooper generates the power distributed by South Carolina's 20 electric cooperatives.
The people of South Carolina govern Santee Cooper through a board of directors appointed by the governor and approved by the state Senate. A board member represents each congressional district and each of the three counties where Santee Cooper serves retail customers directly; one board member has previous electric cooperative experience; and the chairman is appointed at-large.
[edit] Santee Cooper Lakes
The Santee Cooper Power and Navigation Project, constructed in 1939, improved navigation on and provided hydroelectric power from the Santee and Cooper rivers in South Carolina. With the creation of Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie, the project was intended to improve the health, recreation, and economy of the area. At the time, the Santee Cooper Project was the largest land-clearing project in U.S. history, with over 12,500 workers clearing over 177,000 acres (720 km²) of swamp and forestland. 42 miles (68 km) of dams and dikes were constructed, including a 26-mile (42 km), 78-foot (24 m) tall earthen dike. The Pinopolis Dam included the hydroelectric station and navigation lock, the highest single-lift lock in the world. A 3,400-foot (1,000 m) spillway was built to control floodwaters, with 62 gates allowing overflow of excess water. In completing the largest earth-moving project in the nation's history, 42,000,000 cubic yards (32,000,000 m³) of earth were moved and 3.1 million cubic yards of concrete were poured.
The $48.2 million project (55 percent federal loan, 45 percent federal grant) first generated electricity on Feb. 17, 1942. As transmission lines were built, power flowed to customers in Berkeley, Georgetown and Horry counties, and ultimately to electric cooperatives serving customers in 46 counties.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- "Santee Cooper Project", Clemson University Libraries, 2001
- "History of Santee Cooper" Santee Cooper, 2007
- "History of Santee Cooper" Santee Cooper Kids, 2003
