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Electricity service is composed of three distinct functions: generation (or production), transmission and distribution. It is provided by several types of public utilities: (1) investor owned utilities (IOUs), such as Carolina Power and Light Company, Duke Power Company and South Carolina Electric and Gas Company; (2) publicly owned utilities, such as the South Carolina Public Service Authority, also known as Santee Cooper, and municipalities, such as Orangeburg; and (3) electric cooperatives.

The South Carolina Public Service Commission (PSC) was established in 1910 to supervise and regulate the rates and service of public utilities operating in this State. The PSC regulates the rates and service standards and establishes the territorial assignments of the IOUs. The PSC has authority to establish territorial assignments of the electric cooperatives, but not their rates or service standards. The PSC has no authority over the municipalities which provide electricity service to the residents within their corporate limits.

SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS

SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF
CONSUMER AFFAIRS