SC Electric Cooperatives Move to Shield Residents from Big-Tech Energy Costs
March 25, 2026
As data centers continue to plant roots across South Carolina — bringing jobs, investment, and enormous appetites for electricity — the state’s electric cooperatives are making it official: Palmetto State families and local businesses won’t be left holding the tab for the power demands of corporate giants.
On March 18, the Central Electric Power Cooperative Board voted without dissent to formalize a set of consumer protections that the Columbia-based generation and transmission cooperative and its 19 member cooperatives had previously applied on an individual basis. The move transforms what was informal policy into a binding standard for how the co-op system approaches large-scale energy users going forward.
The new rate structure applies to any customer requiring 20 megawatts of power or more — a threshold that effectively targets data centers and similarly massive industrial operations. Among the requirements built into the policy: long-term contracts spanning at least 15 years with meaningful early exit penalties, upfront prepayment for any infrastructure upgrades a new customer’s load demands, financial security deposits, monthly consumption minimums, and provisions that allow for power curtailment during grid stress events.
Central CEO Rob Hochstetler framed the decision as a balancing act — one the cooperative takes seriously on behalf of the roughly 2 million South Carolinians who depend on member co-ops for electricity. Large energy consumers, he noted, can actually benefit the grid when the arrangement is structured thoughtfully. The goal is to capture those benefits while making sure the costs and risks don’t quietly migrate onto the bills of ordinary customers.
Berl Davis, chairman of Central’s board and CEO of Palmetto Electric Cooperative, put it plainly: residential and commercial customers in South Carolina shouldn’t be asked to offset the energy expenses of major corporations. That principle has always guided how the cooperative sets its rates, and the new policy puts it in writing.
The timing is notable. Electric cooperatives in South Carolina currently serve one data center — a facility that has been operational since 2007 — and have three additional data center projects in active development. Each of those newer agreements already incorporates the same consumer safeguards now enshrined in the formal rate, meaning the policy change codifies protections that are already at work in the marketplace.
Central’s leadership emphasized that long-term commitment requirements aren’t just about protecting members from cost exposure — they’re also about ensuring that the cooperative can plan and build the infrastructure these customers need with confidence. Transmission lines, substations, and power generation resources represent significant capital investment. Solid, long-horizon contracts give the cooperative the runway to make those investments wisely, keeping South Carolina competitive for economic development while maintaining grid reliability for everyone else.
The policy was developed following a months-long review of industry best practices, with the final framework endorsed by third-party consumer advocates as genuinely pro-consumer.
For Golden Strip residents served by electric cooperatives, the message is straightforward: the growth of the digital economy is welcome in South Carolina — and your co-op intends to make sure that growth works for you, not against you.
