Supporting South
Carolina’s Economy
Through Cooperative
Partnerships
On April 7, 1934, Governor Ibra C. Blackwood signed into
law an act that created the S.C. Public Service Authority, more
commonly known as Santee Cooper. It was the culmination of
more than 150 years worth of efforts to tap the Santee and
Cooper Rivers for economic development. Never in their wildest
dreams could the 1770 committee of the colonial Commons
House of Assembly that first proposed developing the two rivers
have predicted their inland-navigation project would evolve into
South Carolina’s largest power producer and one of the largest
public-power utilities in the United States.
Provisions in the enabling legislature proclaim Santee Cooper
was created by South Carolina “for the benefit of all the people
of the state, for the improvement of their health and welfare and
material prosperity.”
Seventy-five years later, these words are at the very heart of
Santee Cooper’s mission to be the state’s leading resource for
improving the quality of life for the people of South Carolina. To
help fulfill this mission, Santee Cooper is committed to being the
lowest-cost producer and distributor of reliable energy and
water, as well as being a leader in economic development.
As soon as Santee Cooper produced its first electricity in
1942, it became a catalyst for economic development throughout all of South Carolina, thanks largely to its partnership with
the electric cooperatives. Throughout their shared history, Santee Cooper and the cooperatives have worked in tandem to
bring businesses large and small to the state, including industries
like International Paper, Alcoa Inc., Nucor Steel, AVX, Georgia-Pacific, Builders FirstSource, BP Amoco, American Gypsum,
Starbucks, and Google.
In September 1988, representatives of Santee Cooper and
the electric cooperatives jointly created the Palmetto Economic
Development Corporation, known today as the South Carolina
Power Team. In the 20 years since, the Power Team has been
part of 580 industrial relocation or expansion projects, resulting
in $8.1 billion in capital investments, 43,500 new jobs, and $1.3
billion in annual payrolls.
When the Power Team was created, there was an implicit
mandate to support the efforts of South Carolina’s local and
regional economic developers, as well as the S.C. Department of
Commerce. Among the Power Team’s efforts in this arena is its
Economic Development Review, where electric cooperative and
economic development communities meet annually to create
the relationships that power more effective economic development efforts. The Power Team has also funded statewide work
force studies that address labor availability issues and give local
developers an additional recruitment tool.
In 2006, the Power Team introduced three new initiatives to
further support economic development. It awards scholarships
for economic development professionals to take accredited
courses to improve their skill sets, and also assists in the development of strategic marketing plans for county and regional
economic development corporations. Furthermore, the Power
Team works to certify industrial sites in all 46 counties. Through
2008, the Power Team has awarded 36 scholarships, completed
or begun 23 strategic plans, and certified 11 sites.
George Haygood, CEcD
Program Director, Economic Development
Santee Cooper
One Riverwood Drive
Moncks Corner, SC 29461-2901
Phone: 843.761.7010
Fax: 843.761.4164
E-mail: ghhaygoo@santeecooper.com
www.scprimesite.com
