South Carolina · State-owned utility · EIA data, final 2025
Santee Cooper (South Carolina Public Service Authority) commercial electricity rates in South Carolina
What Santee Cooper billed its commercial customers, year by year since 2015, with the average bill, the other customer classes, meters, reliability and territory. Official figures, and context for a bill rather than a quote.
Santee Cooper billed its 30,910 commercial customers in South Carolina an average of 10.82¢ per kWh in 2025, 3.2% below the state’s commercial average of 11.18¢. The average customer used about 5,311 kWh a month and was billed about $575. It is an average over every size of customer, not a rate.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 (final 2025 data) · 2026-10-29
- Average commercial price, 202510.82¢per kWh, all commercial customers
- vs South Carolina average−3.2%state commercial average 11.18¢
- Commercial customers30,9104th largest of 28 in South Carolina
- Average use5,311 kWha month per commercial customer
- Average bill$575a month per commercial customer
- Since 2015+20%from 8.99¢ per kWh
- Outages41 mina year per customer · US average 124
Santee Cooper (South Carolina Public Service Authority) is a state-owned utility serving 3 counties in South Carolina. Among the 28 South Carolina utilities in EIA’s 2025 sales data with 500 or more commercial customers, it is the 4th largest, with about 7.5% of the state’s commercial customers. EIA lists it as South Carolina Public Service Authority.
Santee Cooper commercial electricity prices, 2015 to 2025
In 2015 Santee Cooper billed its commercial customers an average of 8.99¢ per kWh. In 2025 the figure was 10.82¢, so it rose 20% over 10 years. The average for all commercial customers in South Carolina rose 9.5% over the same period. The latest year, 2025, is the highest of the 11 on record here. Between 2024 and 2025 it rose 15%.
| Year | Commercial customers | Average price per kWh | South Carolina average per kWh | Average use a month | Average bill a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 30,910 | 10.82¢ | 11.18¢ | 5,311 kWh | $575 |
| 2024 | 30,938 | 9.43¢ | 10.64¢ | 5,358 kWh | $505 |
| 2023 | 31,942 | 9.47¢ | 10.39¢ | 5,036 kWh | $477 |
| 2022 | 31,699 | 9.37¢ | 10.86¢ | 5,097 kWh | $478 |
| 2021 | 30,718 | 9.39¢ | 10.67¢ | 5,243 kWh | $492 |
| 2020 | 30,840 | 9.47¢ | 10.35¢ | 4,935 kWh | $467 |
| 2019 | 31,145 | 9.53¢ | 10.58¢ | 5,362 kWh | $511 |
| 2018 | 30,530 | 9.81¢ | 10.11¢ | 5,582 kWh | $547 |
| 2017 | 29,614 | 9.85¢ | 10.57¢ | 5,689 kWh | $560 |
| 2016 | 29,301 | 9.52¢ | 10.28¢ | 5,881 kWh | $560 |
| 2015 | 28,815 | 8.99¢ | 10.21¢ | 5,977 kWh | $537 |
Average use and average bill are the utility’s commercial sales and revenue divided by its commercial customers and by twelve. The bill is an all-in figure: energy, delivery, demand and fixed charges together. A few very large customers pull both averages up, so most businesses use and pay less than the average.
Residential, commercial and industrial prices at Santee Cooper
In 2025 the average commercial price at Santee Cooper was 16% below the residential figure and 82% above the industrial one. Larger customers take power at a higher voltage and use it more steadily, so at most utilities the average falls from residential to commercial to industrial. Which class an account falls in is the utility’s decision, and the line between commercial and industrial is drawn differently from one utility to the next.
| Customer class | Customers | Sales (MWh) | Average price per kWh | Average use a month | Average bill a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential | 188,962 | 2,174,887 | 12.91¢ | 959 kWh | $124 |
| Commercial | 30,910 | 1,969,865 | 10.82¢ | 5,311 kWh | $575 |
| Industrial | 25 | 6,131,084 | 5.94¢ | 20,436,947 kWh | $1,213,738 |
How Santee Cooper’s commercial rates are set
Santee Cooper is owned by the state, and its own board sets its rates. A commercial account is billed on a rate schedule, chosen by the size of the account and the voltage it takes power at, and a schedule usually combines a fixed monthly charge, a charge per kWh and, above a certain size, a demand charge on the highest rate of draw in the month. The schedule code is printed on the bill. There is no competitive supply market for ordinary commercial accounts in South Carolina, so the levers are the schedule, the peak and the amount used.
Meters, time-varying rates and net metering at Santee Cooper
EIA counts 28,898 commercial meters at Santee Cooper in 2025, and 28,898 of them (100%) are advanced meters (AMI), which record use at least hourly and report it to the utility at least daily. An advanced meter is what makes interval data possible, and interval data is what shows when a building’s peak demand happens.
At Santee Cooper, 29,314 commercial customers were on a time-varying rate in 2025, about 95% of its commercial customers. A time-varying rate charges more in some hours than in others, so when a business uses power matters as well as how much. The kinds Santee Cooper reports offering commercial customers are time-of-use pricing.
How reliable is Santee Cooper’s electric service?
Santee Cooper customers went without power for an average of 41 minutes in 2025, excluding major storms, with about 0.67 interruptions per customer. The average across U.S. utilities reporting the same way is 124 minutes. With major storms counted the figure was 43 minutes. These are averages over every customer of every class, so they describe the system and not any one street.
Where Santee Cooper serves
EIA records Santee Cooper serving customers in 3 South Carolina counties: Berkeley, Georgetown, Horry. A county can be shared between utilities, so this does not tell you who serves a given address. The utility that serves an address is the one named on its bill.
EIA lists Santee Cooper as its balancing authority, the body that keeps supply and demand matched minute by minute across the area.
Other utilities in South Carolina
The average each billed its commercial customers in 2025. The South Carolina page has the state’s own figures and every utility with 500 or more commercial customers.
- Dominion Energy South Carolina (12.90¢)
- Duke Energy Carolinas (9.68¢)
- Duke Energy Progress (11.02¢)
- Berkeley Electric Cooperative (8.27¢)
- Horry Electric Cooperative (14.15¢)
- Palmetto Electric Cooperative (13.56¢)
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- They are averages over every commercial customer. A utility whose commercial customers are mostly large averages fewer cents per kWh than one serving mostly small shops, so a lower figure can mean larger customers and not a lower rate.
- They are not a rate schedule. None of these figures is a charge printed in Santee Cooper’s tariff, and nothing here works out a bill from one. The tariff index lists the utilities whose filed schedules are quoted on this site.
- They are annual and final. EIA publishes utility figures once a year. The South Carolina page carries the state’s trailing 12 months, which is more recent and still preliminary.
For one building, the cost estimator gives a range by building type, size and state, and price by utility sets every utility side by side. Commercial vs residential vs industrial compares the classes in every state.
Data: every year of these figures, for this utility and every other with a page, is in one CSV, free to use with credit to the U.S. Energy Information Administration and this site. To cite this page: Santee Cooper commercial electricity rates, CommercialElectricityRates.com, from EIA Form EIA-861 final 2025 data.
Common questions about Santee Cooper
- What is the average commercial electricity rate at Santee Cooper?
- Santee Cooper billed its commercial customers in South Carolina an average of 10.82¢ per kWh in 2025, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That is 3.2% below the South Carolina commercial average of 11.18¢. It is the utility’s commercial revenue divided by its commercial sales, so it describes the whole class and is not the rate on any one schedule.
- How much is the average commercial electric bill at Santee Cooper?
- About $575 a month in 2025, on average use of about 5,311 kWh a month. That is Santee Cooper’s commercial revenue divided by its 30,910 commercial customers. A few very large accounts pull the average up, so most businesses pay less than this.
- Have Santee Cooper’s commercial electricity rates gone up?
- The average Santee Cooper billed commercial customers rose 20% between 2015 and 2025, from 8.99¢ to 10.82¢ per kWh. The South Carolina commercial average rose 9.5% over the same period.
- How reliable is Santee Cooper’s electric service?
- Santee Cooper customers averaged 41 minutes without power in 2025, excluding major storms, against a 124-minute average for U.S. utilities reporting the same way (EIA).
- Does Santee Cooper use smart meters for businesses?
- EIA counts 28,898 advanced (AMI) meters among Santee Cooper’s 28,898 commercial meters in 2025, which is 100%. An advanced meter records use at least hourly, which is what makes interval data and time-varying rates possible.
- Is this the rate my business will pay Santee Cooper?
- No. It is an average over every commercial customer, from a corner shop to a campus. What one business pays depends on its rate schedule, how much it uses and how hard it draws at its peak. The schedule code is printed on the bill, and the schedule itself is in Santee Cooper’s tariff.
A utility average cannot tell you whether your bill is right. The bill itself can, and it takes three numbers. Nobody calls unless you ask.