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TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR THE SIGNIFICANT SERVICE OF PALMETTO ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE AND TO CELEBRATE ITS SEVENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF PROVIDING ELECTRICITY IN THE PALMETTO STATE.
Whereas, for seventy-five years Palmetto Electric Cooperative has served its membership guided by seven core principles: voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, economic participation of its members, autonomy and independence, education and training, cooperation among cooperatives, and concern for community; and
Whereas, one of twenty nonprofit, consumer-owned electric distribution systems serving the rural and suburban areas of South Carolina, Palmetto Electric Cooperative was organized by people in Jasper and Hampton counties after many years of attempting to get other power suppliers to provide electric service to their sparsely populated rural areas; and
Whereas, in the early 1930s, electricity in South Carolina was confined to towns and cities where power suppliers could sell current to large groups of customers over small areas of land. It costs much more to serve rural areas because it takes more miles of line to sell power to fewer people. To recover those costs and make a profit, power companies would have to charge rates higher than people could afford; and
Whereas, in 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced relief projects to help the nation recover from the Great Depression and passed an executive order creating the Rural Electrification Administration, which today is part of the United States Department of Agriculture known as Rural Utilities Service; and
Whereas, many consumers in the Palmetto State became interested in organizing electric supply systems through nonprofit electric cooperatives. In 1939, Governor Olin Johnston signed the South Carolina Rural Electrification Act. County agents from the Clemson Extension Service, instrumental in forming most of the co-ops in the State, explained that it was possible for the consumers to own their own company through the cooperative system; and
Whereas, on August 20, 1940, Palmetto Electric Cooperative, headquartered in Ridgeland, received its charter and two years later began serving one hundred four members. Seventy-five years later, it serves 69,000 accounts in four South Carolina counties: Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton, and Allendale; and
Whereas, although the Cooperative's core mission is to provide reliable, affordable electric service to its membership, it also has become an economic engine for development and job creation. By working with state and county governments, Palmetto Electric has helped to develop industrial and business parks in Beaufort, Jasper, and Hampton counties; and
Whereas, Palmetto Electric has shown a strong commitment to community through programs like Operation Round Up, which rounds up members' monthly bills to the nearest dollar for distribution to local charities; and through Operation Round Up, donates over $300,000 to charities each year. Palmetto Electric also provides support for local schools, fire departments, law enforcement, veterans, and senior citizens, as well as numerous other civic and professional organizations; and
Whereas, the South Carolina House appreciates the three-quarters of a century that Palmetto Electric Cooperative has provided electricity, productivity, and opportunity to the citizens of South Carolina, and the members look forward to its continued prosperity and growth in the days ahead. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize and honor the significant service of Palmetto Electric Cooperative and celebrate its seventy-fifth anniversary of providing electricity in the Palmetto State.
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