Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article The incident happened about 3:15 p.m. in Santee Alley, a popular open-air market in the Fashion District, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Seven of those injured in the crash in the 300 block of East 12th Street, including three children, were hospitalized in fair condition, emergency officials said. Two people were released “against medical advice,” a Fire Department statement said. Those injured included pedestrians. It was unclear whether the driver was hurt or whether there were any injured passengers in the van. The crash site was in the 300 block of East 12th Street in downtown Los Angeles. (Los Angeles Police Department) Department of Transportation workers were on the scene to cordon off and redirect traffic. It’s unclear what caused the minivan to crash. Video and images of the scene posted Sunday showed a silver minivan on the sidewalk that appeared to have rammed into several concrete barriers. A yellow and red awning also appeared to have partially collapsed by the van, which was surrounded by yellow police tape. California Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map view and check on the status of outages.  Learn more below about power restoration and planned outages and our Special Medical Needs Program for priority consideration during power restoration To sign up for outage alerts, enroll in MEL If you would like to report a power outage, click here. To report a streetlight outage, click here View Full Map Please take the following steps if you experience a power outage.  Be prepared to provide the following information: our team will respond as soon as possible to restore power to your home or business Report problems with a streetlight or other outdoor rental light that is out or cycling on and off. It is helpful to locate the pole number and/or location of the light If some lights or appliances in your home or business are working while others are not You should contact a certified electrician to examine your electrical panel and appliances to determine why you’re experiencing partial power we conduct periodic planned outages when necessary to repair and enhance our grid Turning off power during planned outages ensures our teams’ safety Santee Cooper’s Special Medical Needs Program provides extra attention and options to our customers who are on life-support devices or have chronic medical conditions that could be made worse by the loss of electricity to help our personnel easily identify Special Medical Needs customers and give priority to power restoration during an outage.  Acceptance into this program will allow Santee Cooper to handle your account with special care Special Medical Needs customers will need to recertify medical status every two years The third-party notification allows a third-party contact to be notified when service is scheduled for disconnection The contact is not responsible for payment of the customer’s bill. The notification is only meant to assist customers with avoiding disconnection Special Medical Needs Application or click here to request an application by email or contact us at 800-804-7424 and ask for our Special Medical Needs Coordinator Learn more about how you can stay safe around electricity and what you should do before, during and after a storm You can turn the power off using the main breaker before you leave You may want to leave the power on to some electric appliances and equipment Not always. If you don't have power, call 888-769-7688 or report it online here There are several reasons this might happen:  Your individual service may be damaged or your home could be on a different main power line than your neighbors it may be that your home needs electrical repairs before you can receive service from Santee Cooper Each outage is different, so it's difficult to be specific. Please be assured that we work aggressively to restore power as quickly as possible after a storm or outage. We know no one likes to be without power, and Santee Cooper employees are committed to providing you with fast, efficient service. You can monitor outages online at our Storm Center Generating stations and transmission lines must be repaired first. Next, power is restored to customers who provide essential services to the community, such as hospitals, police stations, fire departments, and water and sewer facilities. Repairs are then made that will return power to the greatest number of customers, such as damaged main feeders. Finally, we restore small groups and individual services. View diagram Sometimes damage occurs to a part of the electrical system that is your responsibility After the electrician has completed the necessary repairs ask that they immediately contact the local building authority to request an inspection Please make sure the building authority calls Santee Cooper to let us know the inspection is complete and gives us permission to reconnect your power Although most power outages are short-lived and don't require auxiliary power some customers use portable electric generators for this purpose the safety of those around you and the safety of Santee Cooper line technicians portable electric generators should be operated according to strict guidelines If you have any doubt about the condition of the electrical system We cannot guarantee your power will not go out so we encourage you to make arrangements to relocate when storms threaten With a doctor's written confirmation of your medical need you can be placed on our Life Line program which will provide you with a priority status when possible in the event of unexpected outages Contact your local retail office for more information about Life Line Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed A tight seal on the doors will reduce chances of melting Santee Cooper is not responsible for food loss If either the oven or the dryer are not working properly it is advisable to turn off the power to your home at the main breaker This will eliminate the possibility of any further damage to your electrical appliances and equipment If both the oven and dryer are working properly and one of the circuit breakers has tripped off The problem is internal and must be checked by an electrician We use fuses on our system to protect our equipment and lines Santee Cooper's substations are equipped with circuit breakers similar to those in your home the breakers trip to prevent damage to the electrical system The problem could be a tree limb on the line or a lightning strike Since these problems are normally temporary our circuit breakers are designed to reset automatically These outages typically last less than a second but it can be long enough to cause a digital clock to lose its memory Roxie Johnson a former member of the Santee Sioux Tribal Council details some of the history of the tribe and the Flandreau area By Calleen Soper | May 1 The Santee water tower stands amid new homes under construction (Photo by Calleen Soper/Carolina News & Reporter) Casinos were legalized in Indiana about 30 years ago Indiana resident David Gerdes saw an opportunity to change his life He spent the next three decades doing just that rising from a blackjack dealer to an assistant shift manager real good life for my family,” Gerdes said Now South Carolina lawmakers are considering whether that same opportunity could be brought to places like Santee Bill 4176 proposes the development of casinos in South Carolina developers plan to start with a single temporary casino inside the old Santee Mall “I do think you’ll see immediately the folks that want to work that live there locally now will have a much better opportunity to work (in) a good paying job hasn’t been welcomed in South Carolina But if the bill passes during this legislative session or next then the temporary casino could open within 120 days As the temporary casino is generating business work would begin on the permanent casino project which aims to have the perks of a Las Vegas-style casino a resort-style hotel and a convention center Cheves touts the attractiveness of having a casino in Santee along the I-95 corridor “The unique thing about Santee is it’s in between New York and Florida and that’s why Walt Disney considered this location and wanted to build Disney World there years ago,” Cheves said Cheves estimates this casino project would bring more than 4,600 jobs – 600 of them directly affiliated with the casino – and could generate more than $58 million in tax revenue  Efforts to get gaming legalized in South Carolina have failed in the past to generate a thriving economy than gambling,” McMaster said in a video message provided to Carolina News & Reporter by his communications office “It’s not consistent with our culture and our history clean businesses and industries that are looking to come to South Carolina probably higher wages than some of these.”  Gerdes remembers the same reaction from many politicians when casinos were proposed in Indiana  “People said the same thing in Indiana,” Gerdes recalled  South Carolina’s legislative session ends May 8 we’ll keep educating people over the summer and come back stronger in the fall,” Cheves said Entrance to the now-shuttered Santee Outlet Mall (Photo By Calleen Soper/Carolina News & Reporter) the proposed site for the proposed casino (Video by Calleen Soper/Carolina News and Reporter) Rendering of the proposed casino (Photo courtesy of Santee Development Corp./Carolina News & Reporter) The entrance to the mall site (Photo by Calleen Soper/Carolina News & Reporter) Soper is a graduate student in the University of South Carolina's multimedia journalism program She finished a bachelor's degree at the state's Limestone University after moving south from her native Chicago She completed an internship in sports broadcasting Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress Editorials represent the institutional view of the newspaper They are written and edited by the editorial staff which operates separately from the news department Editorial writers are not involved in newsroom operations CEO Jimmy Staton says charging higher rates to new data centers and other large energy users is simply protecting the rest of Santee Cooper's customers from unfair cost increases. File/Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette For more than a year, we’ve been hearing from state senators conservationists and small business advocates about the problem of computer data centers moving into our state and hoovering up our electricity forcing our utilities to build expensive generating capacity and sticking the rest of us with the bill for those massive investments Although utility executives have acknowledged that these energy hogs are the primary reason they need to build so much new capacity which is understandable since they just want to get permission to build new capacity without getting in the middle of other divisive legislative battles That changed last week, when Santee Cooper CEO Jimmy Staton sold his board on a new rate structure designed to ensure that data centers and other massive new users pay for the new capacity the utility has to build to serve them “What we’re trying to do is protect existing customers from significant price increases because of a new customer coming on the system,” he told the board is that “We build something on their behalf and that leaves all those remaining stranded costs being paid for by the other customers on the system And with that — and of course a closed-door executive session since this was a meeting of the Santee Cooper board — the board voted unanimously to adopt that special pay-your-way rate structure for mega-users As the S.C. Daily Gazette reports the higher rates will apply to any new customer that requires 50 megawatts or more of electricity — enough to power about 25,000 homes Data centers use up to 200 megawatts of power; at 50 megawatts Santee Cooper’s higher rates will also apply to some new industrial customers — think battery recyclers for instance — that actually employ significant numbers of South Carolinians That’s because the point from Santee Cooper’s perspective isn’t that data centers are evil; it’s that the utility doesn’t have a lot of excess capacity so it has to spend millions or billions of dollars building or buying capacity in order to serve new mega-customers — with no guarantee those customers will actually use as much electricity as they say they need or stick around long enough to pay back the cost of creating it Staton has told lawmakers that data centers are behind about two-thirds of the capacity the utility needs to build in the next few years The higher rates are only part of the new rate structure and probably not even the most important part: New mega-users will have to sign 15-year contracts pay upfront for new transmission lines and new or upgraded generating capacity and be on the hook to pay for most of the cost of the rest of the contract if they leave prematurely That last part is particularly important for data centers because it’s the highly portable equipment inside data centers that’s valuable so they could easily pick up and move to another state that offers more generous incentives An auto manufacturer wouldn’t pose the same risk because the buildings and difficult-to-move equipment constitute such a large investment The new rate plan comes as the Legislature is one vote away from stripping out similar protections for residential commercial and industrial ratepayers that the Senate had added to a utility-friendly (and data center-friendly) bill that's been nearly two years in the works The Senate voted overwhelmingly last month to amend the House’s pro-development H.3309 with several pro-ratepayer provisions among them one that requires pretty much everything the new Santee Cooper policy requires whether mega-users buy their electricity from Santee Cooper Senate leaders apparently caved to House demands to remove those provisions from the bill accepted the Senate's acquiescence Thursday after the Senate had left for the week So the only thing standing in the way of a new law that encourages even more data centers to come take advantage of us are those senators who said they weren't going to put up with it It’s understandable why state-owned Santee Cooper would take a lead against cost-shifting: Investor-owned utilities have to make a profit and they make most of it  through a state law that grants them a profit on construction costs But Santee Cooper doesn't have shareholders so it doesn't have the same incentive to build as much generating capacity as possible in order to make profits Santee Cooper’s decision should have made it clear to House members that data centers will cost ordinary ratepayers more than we’ll ever hope to get in return without legislative protection They need to recognize that the basic facts haven't changed They need to recognize that Santee Cooper's decision to serve the public instead of itself makes it even more essential for the Legislature to require this of all utilities so data centers and other energy hogs don't avoid the parts of the state that Santee Cooper serves and flock to areas powered by the investor-owned utilities forcing those of us served by Dominion or Duke to keep eating their entire cost to reject this very bad deal their leaders cut in secret negotiations with the House Click here for more opinion content from The Post and Courier News tips/online questions: newstips@postandcourier.com Delivery/subscription questions: subserve@postandcourier.com Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Summer Units 2 and 3 could spark a “nuclear renaissance,” South Carolina Gov but questions remain on the project’s scope In January, South Carolina utility Santee Cooper made the first public move in what’s likely to be a years-long process to either complete construction on or find “alternative uses of” the two unfinished nuclear reactors at its Virgil C Citing an expected surge in electric load from “advanced manufacturing investments and the tech industry’s zero-carbon targets,” Santee Cooper CEO touted the potential for V.C Summer Units 2 and 3 “to generate reliable carbon emissions-free electricity on a meaningfully shortened timeline” relative to entirely new nuclear power plants Rather than take responsibility for completing the two 1,117-MW AP1000 reactors, which have been mothballed since July 2017 Santee Cooper tapped investment bank Centerview Partners to lead a request for proposals from parties interested in acquiring the project It’s not certain that the RFP process will produce a workable completion plan the new units could be completed and commissioned within five to eight years Santee Cooper and co-owner South Carolina Electric & Gas Company began construction on V.C the partners agreed to terminate the project amid slower-than-expected progress ballooning cost estimates and the bankruptcy of Westinghouse The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the project co-owners’ request to terminate its combined operating license in 2019 “Restarting these two reactors will not only help fuel our state’s future power needs but will also … spur nationwide investment and construction of new nuclear power generation,” he said The abandoned construction site “is actually in pretty decent shape,” according to a state nuclear advisory council member who visited last year Santee Cooper CEO Jimmy Staton told state legislators in January that the utility sent seven non-disclosure agreements to companies interested in participating in the project Serious RFP responses will likely come from groups led by “a financial-type organization” or a large company “[willing] to spend a substantial amount of money upfront to restart construction,” said Eugene Grecheck principal at Grecheck Consulting and former president of the American Nuclear Society which aims to enable deployment of 6 GW of new nuclear capacity in the next decade Edwards characterized The Nuclear Company as a “spectator” to the V.C “I don’t see a world in which the ratepayers or [local] large industrials don’t benefit from the power,” Edwards said. Power-hungry manufacturers like steelmaker Nucor have a long-established and growing presence in the Carolinas is a smaller set that could include major utilities with experience operating nuclear power plants in the region — such as Duke Energy Dominion Energy operates and owns two-thirds of V.C But Dominion currently has “no contractual or legal involvement in anything that might happen at [Units 2 and 3],” Grecheck said The unfinished units’ future owners may settle on an operational model that looks something like the Nuclear Management Company a now-defunct operations firm formed by a five-utility consortium around 2000 to operate six nuclear plants in the Upper Midwest NMC operated the plants on a “cash for services” basis but did not own the facilities or their output the ownership group and licensee would need to take on a substantial amount of risk to see the V.C or find “creative ways” to mitigate that risk “Federal financing or loan guarantees would make [that] more palatable,” he said DOE did not respond to a request for comment Regardless of the federal financing situation the state nuclear advisory committee’s November report on the site’s better-than-expected condition “was a really important step” that increased public confidence in the project’s viability senior program manager of the advanced nuclear technology program at the Electric Power Research Institute the fact that crews completed the switchyard meant to serve the new units before abandoning the project is also likely a positive any prospective owner would need to conduct a much more thorough inspection of the site its equipment and associated quality assurance paperwork to determine how much remediation is required TVA sold the Bellefonte site in 2016 to a group headed by a local property developer intent on finishing construction, but backed out of the transaction two years later and withdrew its construction permit in 2021 Ascertaining equipment condition is difficult after a long period of inactivity, especially without comprehensive maintenance records, Grecheck said. It’s a marked contrast to the “known quantities” involved in the ongoing efforts to restart the prematurely retired reactors at the Palisades Duane Arnold and Three Mile Island nuclear power plants all of which operated reliably for decades the never-begun aspects of the project may be less risky to complete global nuclear energy leader at Marsh Global Specialty Energy & Power and the challenge there is the supply chain,” she said “But new equipment may be easier to manage than proving existing equipment is OK to restart.” Summer project “probably won’t look completely different than a run-of-the-mill construction process,” though any insurer would want to do their own TVA’s completion of Watts Bar Unit 2 in 2016 after a 22-year hiatus from 1985 to 2007 and further design modifications in the early 2010s in response to the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in Japan shows that — contra Bellefonte — it is possible to successfully resume construction on mothballed fission power plants in the United States Until more is known about the site’s status none of the experts interviewed by Utility Dive would hazard a guess as to how much completing V.C Grecheck said it could be done in five years or less assuming a competent project management team pursued licensing workforce development and procurement efficiently and in parallel while Stover predicted a seven-to-eight-year time frame Edwards and Fowler declined to estimate a completion date “I would encourage everybody involved to ground themselves in facts … [after] a thorough review,” Edwards said Summer project would benefit from lessons learned at Georgia Power’s nearby Plant Vogtle where thousands of workers — many of whom still reside in the region — just finished building the United States’ first two operating AP1000 reactors with so many parts that were substantially complete it does appear to be a faster path than starting fresh,” Stover said Get the free daily newsletter read by industry experts The Southwestern grid operator could need up to to 48 GW of new wind generation, 130 GW of solar and 59 GW of battery storage in the next quarter century Bringing new nuclear “down the cost curve” requires design standardization and continued support from federal clean energy tax credits Subscribe to the Utility Dive free daily newsletter The free newsletter covering the top industry headlines participate in unique activities and grab a bite to eat from local food trucks Visit: https://www.sandiego.org/explore/events/music/santee-summer-concert-series.aspx South Carolina utility says move is response to interest nationally in new reactors to help meet growing electricity needs South Carolina’s state-owned utility Santee Cooper has launched a process seeking proposals that could lead to the revival of the abandoned Summer nuclear power station extension project The company said in a statement that it is looking for proposals to acquire and complete for two partially constructed nuclear units at the site The utility said it has no plans to own the units The statement said Santee Cooper has engaged US investment banking firm Centerview Partners to conduct a request for proposal (RFP) seeking parties interested in acquiring the project and related assets and potentially completing one or both units or pursuing alternative uses of the assets Factors contributing to the utility’s decision to launch an RFP process include a need for new generating capacity the onshoring of manufacturing and the retirement of fossil-fired plants Santee Cooper also cited significant interest in repowering closed or cancelled nuclear units to shorten project timelines as well as federal incentives for these projects “Considering the long timelines required to bring new nuclear units online Santee Cooper has a unique opportunity to explore options for Summer Units 2 and 3 and their related assets that could allow someone to generate reliable carbon emissions-free electricity on a meaningfully shortened timeline,” said utility president and chief executive officer Jimmy Staton “We are seeing renewed interest in nuclear energy fuelled by advanced manufacturing investments and the tech industry’s zero-carbon targets,” Staton said The Summer project is the third in the US that could lead to the completion or restarting of nuclear plants in response to the need for more clean Santee Cooper also noted Summer’s “unique position” as the only site in the US that could deliver 2,200 MW of nuclear capacity “on an accelerated timeline.” The utility said that Summer-2 “was significantly progressed” when the project was cancelled There is also room for more possible units at the site Last year, a nuclear advisory group created by the legislature in South Carolina said it was pushing for a study into restarting construction at Summer Members of the governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council discussed the idea after two of them made a trip to the abandoned reactors and parts left on site at the Summer nuclear station in Fairfield County There is one existing nuclear unit at the Summer site Summer-1 is a 973 MW Westinghouse-supplied pressurised water reactor unit that began commercial operation in 1984 The project to build two new Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at Summer had cost nearly $10bn (€9.6bn) before it was shut down in 2017 sparking multiple lawsuits involving investors and ratepayers Partners Santee Cooper and South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) concluded that completing the two units would be prohibitively expensive The decision to abandon the project came after the bankruptcy filing of Westinghouse Electric SCE&G’s parent company Scana and Santee Cooper then announced they were abandoning the project after Santee Cooper voted to cease all construction In January 2018 Dominion Energy said it would buy Scana in a $14.6bn deal that would include $1.3bn in refunds to SCE&G utility customers Scana shareholders voted to merge the company with Dominion Energy and SCE&G was rebranded under the name Dominion Energy South Carolina Dominion operates seven large-scale reactors at four sites: Millstone in Connecticut North Anna and Surry in Virginia and Summer in South Carolina Four utility executives were charged and sentenced in connection with the failed project The decision to abandon the project came after the bankruptcy filing of Westinghouse Electric becoming NNW and decreasing to less than 5 mph. becoming NNW and decreasing to less than 5 mph Highway 17 crosses the Santee River at the northern tip of Charleston County has been placed under a conservation easement The effort to conserve the vast Santee Delta never organized to the same degree as did the effort to conserve the delta where the Ashepoo Combahee and Edisto rivers converge — commonly known as the ACE Basin — but it's just as important and has experienced a similarly impressive degree of success And while those working on the Santee Delta recently chalked up another victory — the permanent protection of about 254 mostly wooded acres where U.S Highway 17 winds from the river into the northern tip of Charleston County — there is more to do The Lowcountry Land Trust recently announced it has secured an easement from the private owners of Fairfield Plantation The legal agreement prohibits any subdivisions allows only two residences to be built and protects the largest live oaks bald cypress and Southern magnolia trees within 300 feet of the highway which should ensure the county's north-facing front door will always offer a natural While the easement does not provide for public access the public has a lot of other options in the larger area including more than 350,000 acres of public conservation lands such as Francis Marion National Forest and Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge as well as Santee Coastal Reserve and Hampton Plantation State Historic Site but their own rural settings will be reinforced by the Fairfield easement The deal was made possible by $317,000 from the Charleston County Greenbelt Program; that sum will compensate the property owners for about a third of the value they surrendered by donating the easement stewardship associate at Lowcountry Land Trust and notes its public benefits also include habitat protection flood mitigation and scenic preservation for surrounding communities the owners worked with the trust to place 480 acres of Fairfield south and east of South Santee Road into permanent protection and this new deal expands the protected area to more than 700 acres which is still considered our Santee basin there is still a lot of open unprotected land south of McClellanville and around McClellanville so there are still battles to fight there," Mr There are a number of target properties that we're looking at and others to try to fill in what's left." Those target properties number about a dozen though even smaller properties also can be good candidates for an easement deal We hope the owners of those target properties understand how flexible these conservation easements can be and how creatively these deals can be structured to meet a property owner's needs while still offering significant public benefits Fairfield's owners did theirs in two separate steps and kept the right to harvest some timber install a dock and build up to two homes on their land Charleston County's next sales tax proposal needs to include even more money for this important conservation work While the Fairfield example illustrates the importance of landowner generosity an engaged nonprofit and other community partners in preserving the natural and cultural heritage along South Carolina's coast the county's contribution played an important role And in the race against time that looms as the great challenge facing those doing today's conservation work it's important those public dollars keep pace Responding to interest nationally in new nuclear power to help meet growing electricity needs Santee Cooper today launched a process seeking proposals to acquire and complete for two partially constructed generating units at the V.C Santee Cooper has engaged Centerview Partners LLC to conduct a Request for Proposal (RFP) seeking parties interested in acquiring the project and related assets Responses will be due to Centerview on May 5 “We are seeing renewed interest in nuclear energy fueled by advanced manufacturing investments and the tech industry’s zero-carbon targets,” said President and CEO Jimmy Staton “Considering the long timelines required to bring new nuclear units online carbon emissions-free electricity on a meaningfully shortened timeline.” Staton continued: “We appreciate the interest of state leaders in Santee Cooper moving forward with this RFP Although Santee Cooper has no plans to own or operate those units this process could help identify another entity with a viable alternative that would produce benefits for our customers support economic development and provide value to the state of South Carolina.” Factors contributing to the utility’s decision to launch the RFP process include: Following years of extensive and costly delays and then bankruptcy by its contractor Santee Cooper voted to stop construction of Units 2 and 3 in July 2017 and with majority owner SCE&G (now Dominion Energy South Carolina) SCE&G transferred its interest in the assets to Santee Cooper in 2018 The Santees and the Coopers are friendly neighbors with a friendly rivalry those three hours each day when customer demand for electricity surges – and so does the cost to provide it They’ve mastered the art of timing energy-guzzling appliances to cut their peak demand and lower their electric bills – and they’re here to help you save on yours Use energy-intensive appliances during non-peak hours The objective is to use big appliances during the 21 hours outside of Peak Hours to lower their bills—without sacrificing convenience—and show the neighborhood how easy it is to join in on the savings Ready to follow their lead and save on electric Do shifting and delaying your appliances really make a difference Reduce your electric bill by delaying the dishwasher until after peak hours running the thermostat and water heater before and after peak hours using the clothes dryer during the 21 hours outside of peak hours or using just one appliance at a time It’s easy to Defeat The Peak and Bank The Savings Does running the dishwasher really use that much energy and during Peak Hours that energy is more expensive It’s not the water; it’s the heat Washing and drying those dishes can crank up your energy use fast you can Defeat The Peak and Bank The Savings How do we stay comfortable without raising our bills we set our thermostat to pre-heat the house before 6 a.m to ensure cozy mornings and a happy wallet and then we return the thermostat to our normal seasonal setting after Peak Hours Can a simple water heater timer save you money Program it to heat water before or after winter Peak Hours (6 a.m and y’all can enjoy those hot showers with a lower bill That’s how to Defeat The Peak and Bank The Savings all you need to do is delay the time you start your dryer until after the peak in the winter (November through March) and 3 p.m You can find information on the new rates here and get more specific information on residential rates here The best thing to do is to stagger the use of those appliances it's best to avoid using all of your high-energy appliances at the same time during Peak Hours Many of us don't have appliances with delay-start buttons Here are some tips to help you Defeat The Peak: Refrigerator – ENERGY STAR®  Dehumidifier (small – 25 pints)  depends on make/model of the appliance or equipment.   You can purchase water heater timers and smart thermostats at Santee Cooper Marketplace. Most of the products are discounted or have instant rebates. Keep safety in mind and have a licensed electrician install your water heater timer – Santee Cooper’s new rates take effect with April bills The new residential rates include a peak hour demand charge based on the single highest hour of electricity use during the three peak hours each day of the billing period To help residential customers better control their bills Santee Cooper is sharing tips and tricks to “Defeat The Peak and Bank The Savings.”  “Peak hours are the three hours each day when demand for electricity surges When customers choose to make simple changes to when they use electricity they have more control over their bills,” said Vicky Budreau Santee Cooper’s Chief Customer Officer “Shifting and delaying the use of appliances that require a lot of electricity can help customers lower their bills.”  Customers can “Defeat The Peak and Bank The Savings” by shifting or staggering the use of energy-intensive appliances away from the three peak hours each day during winter months (November through March) and 3 p.m during summer months (April through October).  For more information on ways to save money under the new rates, visit DefeatThePeakSC.com or follow #DefeatThePeakSC on social media. For information on the rates process and specific changes, visit santeecooper.com/ratestudy MONCKS CORNER, S.C. – Santee Cooper is holding a meeting on Thursday, April 3 from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. for the public to learn more about its resource planning initiatives Santee Cooper’s 2023 IRP was submitted to the PSC in May 2023 and approved by the PSC in February 2024 will be virtual to make it more convenient and accessible for all who are interested The agenda will cover resource planning initiatives Individual registration is required and can be done at www.santeecooper.com/IRP. More information about Santee Cooper’s IRP is also available at www.santeecooper.com/IRP Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInSUMTER COUNTY, S.C. (WIS) - Sumter County Coroner Robert M. Baker identified a man who fatally drowned in the Santee River Thursday afternoon 52-year-old Kongkeo Playsith died on the scene from an apparent drowning while on the Santee River near Packs Landing An autopsy will be performed on Tuesday at the Medical University in Charleston The Sumter County Coroner’s Office and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources are investigating the drowning  Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with WIS. For more free content like this, subscribe to our email newsletter, and download our apps. Have feedback that can help us improve? Click here the Santee Cooper Board of Directors approved new base rates for retail customers offering new flexibility for customers to control their monthly bills The new rates will take effect in April 2025 and mark the first increase in base rates since 2017 The approval comes after a months-long public input process that included significant customer feedback “The new rates will allow Santee Cooper to keep customers’ monthly bills below the state and national averages while we work to meet growing customer demand and comply with new regulations,” said Jimmy Staton the typical residential customer will see an average $11 increase in their monthly bill customers will have flexibility to reduce their monthly bills by staggering or delaying their use of energy-intensive appliances including their clothes dryer and water heater approved rate changes for residential customers on the RG rate include a lower energy charge dropping from 11.97 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in the summer and 9.97 cents in the winter to a new year-round 7.92 cents; a slightly increased monthly customer charge from $19.50 to $20; and a new demand charge of $8.00 per kilowatt (kW) for the peak hour each month when a customer uses the most electricity Approved rates for residential customers on the RT rate include an $8 decrease in the monthly customer charge a slightly decreased on-peak summer energy charge a slightly increased on-peak non-summer energy charge Peak hours mirror the RG rate and are 3 p.m The approved rates include making permanent what have been experimental REV and EVO electric vehicle rates with some modifications and a new on-peak demand charge The Super Off-Peak energy charge remains the same and charging windows will remain from 11 p.m on the REV rate and 9 p.m. to 5 a.m Approved rates for commercial customers include a slight increase in the customer charge for all rate categories and a reduced on-peak energy charge and the addition of a demand charge The Board approved an Experimental Rate for low-load factor/low-usage commercial customers and slight changes to demand charges and energy charges for other commercial customers The Board also approved new rates for industrial, solar and lighting customers. Customers can learn more about Santee Cooper’s approved rates at www.santeecooper.com/ratestudy. Residential customers can use the website’s rate calculator to see how their bills could be impacted – Santee Cooper has launched Marketplace – an online one-stop energy-saving shop – to offer residential customers easy access to affordable most at discounted prices or with automatic rebates Santee Cooper residential customers can save energy and potentially money on their power bills when they purchase and use items hand-picked by energy-efficiency experts customers can shop on Marketplace from the comfort of their own homes.  Some of the products on Marketplace include:   “This is a fantastic opportunity for us to arm customers with better tools to manage their energy use,” said Vicky Budreau “Marketplace features products that will help our customers use less energy during peak hours and save money on their monthly bills.” Water heater timers and smart thermostats have proven beneficial in helping electric users avoid high energy use during peak hours.  Residential customers can learn more at DefeatThePeakSC.com Customers can shop the Marketplace website at SanteeCooperMarketplace.com The Santee Cooper Marketplace is now open! An online, one-stop, energy-saving shop for our residential customers, Marketplace offers energy-efficient products  — including ENERGY STAR® products — available at discounted costs and there are plenty of additional promotions planned for the year I went through my house to check on some things I realized my thermostat wasn’t programmable Both the smart thermostat and water heater timer were priced a lot lower than I’ve seen them in the store Marketplace scheduled three weeks for delivery It was quick and easy and helped me save money I also found during my home check that my dishwasher timer is broken. Do you “know a guy?” I’ll be checking our Trade Allies list to help me find someone qualified Marketplace is a tool Santee Cooper created to help our customers with their energy use under the restructured rate, which includes a Demand Charge during Peak Hours The equipment sold in the Marketplace is typically available in your local hardware store you get the added advantage of rebates or steep discounts Marketplace will offer promotions throughout the year Visit santeecoopermarketplace.com to check out this exciting new benefit for our residential customers We hope you also find it a useful tool for saving energy (and money) Tracy Vreeland joined Santee Cooper in May 2018 coming from a Myrtle Beach advertising agency Prior to that she worked at United Way of Horry County she majored in electronic journalism and has worked in television news gathering at several stations going to the beach and watching the New York Giants and USC Gamecocks – The Santee Cooper Board of Directors today approved the planned expansion of the Rainey Generating Station as a Shared Resource with Central Electric Power Cooperative The expansion will add approximately 180 megawatts (MW) of capacity to Rainey Station without requiring additional natural gas to generate the additional capacity – and without increasing the emission rate The combined cycle conversion project involves installing two heat recovery steam generators a steam turbine generator and other components to capture the waste heat from two existing simple-cycle units and use that heat to generate additional electricity The project requires approval from the Public Service Commission and construction is expected to take three years "This combined cycle conversion project will play a vital role in ensuring reliable power for our growing population,” said Jimmy Staton it adds much-needed capacity without increasing fuel costs or emissions rates aligning with our commitment to affordability Central Electric Power Cooperative President and CEO Rob Hochstetler who heads the utility supplying power to the state’s electric cooperatives and serving as Santee Cooper’s largest customer noted the importance of South Carolina power providers bringing additional generation resources online “This project illustrates how Santee Cooper and South Carolina’s electric cooperatives are working collaboratively to meet our state’s growing energy needs,” said Hochstetler “Our staff and board studied this project at length and we agree with Santee Cooper’s conclusion that expanding the Rainey Generating Station is a smart cost-effective and environmentally responsible way to expand a key source of reliable energy.” Thomas as its Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel and B Shawan Gillians as its Chief Strategy and Communications Officer The utility’s Board of Directors approved both positions at its Dec Thomas has extensive experience with public power utilities having represented Santee Cooper in a variety of contexts over the past 17 years most of that as a partner with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough Thomas served as Planning Manager at the S.C Department of Commerce focused on economic She is a former State Planner with the S.C where she coordinated the state’s annual Strategic Energy Action Plan and implemented energy use and renewable energy policies and projects for South Carolina.  She also served with the S.C General Assembly as a law clerk with the Senate Judiciary Committee and legislative aide with the House of Representatives Thomas has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Carolina Honors College in journalism and mass communications with a cognate in political science a Master of Public Administration from the University of South Carolina focused on environmental resource management and local government and a law degree also from the University of South Carolina.  She serves on the Board of Governors of the University of South Carolina Alumni Association.  She has been a member of the South Carolina Bar Association since 2007 and has served in a variety of roles within the Bar currently serving on its Ethics Advisory Committee.  She also is a member of the Board of Directors of the S.C Gillians has held several positions at Santee Cooper including serving as the utility’s first Director of Sustainability and Associate General Counsel a position she was named to in January 2023 She joined Santee Cooper in 2011 as an Attorney and has served as Associate General Counsel and also Director of Legal Services and Corporate Secretary She has been in private practice with Buist Moore Smythe McGee Gillians serves on the Nominating Committee for the South Carolina Bar Association and is a member of the bar associations in South Carolina and Texas She has also served in the House of Delegates of the S.C of the South Carolina Supreme Court Commission on Continuing Legal Education Gillians received her Bachelor of Arts in economics and religion from Wofford College (and currently serves on the Wofford Board of Trustees) a Juris Doctor from The College of William and Mary and a Master of Business Administration from the University of South Carolina Gillians serves on the boards for the Trident United Way the Children’s Trust of South Carolina and the Historic Charleston Foundation.  South Carolina Governor Caroll Campbell dedicated the Santee Cooper Regional Water System on Lake Moultrie Now named one of the state’s “Best Tasting Water” by the S.C the water system has grown to help hydrate communities and attract industry.  The idea of using the Santee Cooper Lakes as a wholesale source of water was supported by several public entities and government officials the Santee Cooper Board of Directors approved construction of the Santee Cooper Regional Water System allowing Santee Cooper to hydrate communities The $34.7 million project was called symbolic and a shining example of public-entity cooperation because it was the first regional approach to water distribution in the Lowcountry.  Santee Cooper became a wholesale water supplier to the Lake Moultrie Water Agency which includes four Lowcountry water utilities: Summerville Commissioners of Public Works Berkeley County Water and Sanitation Authority City of Goose Creek and Moncks Corner Public Works Commission.  The system provided much-needed rate stability to the Agency’s member utilities which had routinely faced annual increases in water rates from previous wholesale providers Agency members had a “seat at the table” and continue to help steer the system’s future This success led to a movement to develop a similar project that would provide water from Lake Marion.  the Lake Marion Regional Water System was dedicated billed as a beacon of hope for one of the state’s most economically depressed regions It serves five wholesale customers that also make up the Lake Marion Regional Water Agency: Berkeley and the Town of Santee. As with the Lake Moultrie system Santee Cooper owns and operates the Lake Marion water treatment plant.  8-million gallons per day plant was celebrated for the residents and the potential to attract new industry “When I began my service in Congress in 1993 the Lake Marion Regional Water Agency was one of my top priorities I am so pleased to be dedicating this water treatment facility This is a tremendous day for the communities in the six-county region around Lake Marion that will ultimately benefit from the clean safe drinking water this project will provide.”  The Santee Cooper Regional Water System continues to build on a solid 30 years of operations The Partnership for Safe Water awarded the Santee Cooper Regional Water System its Directors Award every year since 1999 – Santee Cooper is launching a new program to help reduce barriers to energy efficiency for customers with high-energy burdens and free home energy-efficiency improvements for eligible residential customers The initial phase will focus on specific neighborhoods in Conway with plans to expand the program in the future Power Partners offers home energy assessments by a qualified technician who will identify opportunities to improve energy efficiency weather stripping and faucet aerators and provide those measures free of charge to eligible customers Power Partners also provides energy education to help households adopt long-term energy-saving habits By making energy-efficiency improvements more accessible the program helps reduce power costs for customers while promoting a sustainable “Santee Cooper is committed to ensuring all of our customers have access to affordable reliable and sustainable energy,” said Vicky Budreau “By offering education and free energy-efficiency upgrades to households that may already be struggling to pay monthly bills we hope to help these customers reduce their energy expenses and improve their overall quality of life.” Power Partners also can help lower overall energy consumption and reduce strain on electric infrastructure This initiative will help build a more resilient – The Shuckin’ in the Park Oyster Roast returns to Old Santee Canal Park on Saturday and oysters from the Edisto River will be served from 1 p.m Admission tickets to the oyster roast are $5 per person and can be purchased at the park in advance or on the day of the event there is free admission for children under 12 oysters can be purchased for $15 per gallon-sized bucket food trucks with various non-seafood items and other tasty treats will be available but visitors are asked to keep their pets at home As this is a special event, admission with an annual park pass does not apply. For more information, call the park at 843-899-5200 or visit www.oldsanteecanalpark.org Santee Cooper is seeking proposals to acquire and finish the VC Summer nuclear power plant in South Carolina in the USA where construction of two AP1000 units was abandoned in 2017 but has no plans to operate the units itself The company has launched a process seeking proposals to acquire and complete for the two partially constructed generating units Parties that are "interested in acquiring the project and related assets and potentially completing one or both units or pursuing alternative uses of the assets" have until 5 May to respond to a Request for Proposal being conducted on behalf of Santee Cooper by Centerview Partners LLC "We are seeing renewed interest in nuclear energy and the tech industry's zero-carbon targets," Santee Cooper President and CEO Jimmy Staton said "Considering the long timelines required to bring new nuclear units online carbon emissions-free electricity on a meaningfully shortened timeline." Santee Cooper "has no plans to own or operate those units" but added that the process could help identify "another entity with a viable alternative" that would benefit the company's customers support economic development and provide value to the state of South Carolina Factors cited by the company for its decision include a need for new generating capacity the "continued onshoring of advanced manufacturing" as well as "significant" US interest in repowering previously closed or cancelled nuclear projects It also noted federal support for nuclear construction Construction of two AP1000 units began at VC Summer in 2013 the owners of the Summer project - Scana subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G) and Santee Cooper - decided in August 2017 to abandon construction of the units following reactor vendor Westinghouse's filing for bankruptcy in March that year The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved SCE&G's request to terminate the combined construction and operating licences for the units in 2019 Majority owner SCE&G (now Dominion Energy South Carolina) transferred its interest in the assets to Santee Cooper in 2018 and in 2020 Santee Cooper and Westinghouse finalised a settlement giving Santee Cooper full ownership of the non-nuclear equipment and to split the net sale proceeds of the nuclear-related equipment associated with the project Westinghouse was responsible for marketing the nuclear-related equipment with parts from the cancelled plants earmarked for the completion of Khmelnitsky unit 4 in Ukraine The two-unit Vogtle plant was at a similar stage of construction to Summer at the time the South Carolina project was abandoned and Vogtle's owners - Southern Company's Georgia Power MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities - opted to continue with the project Vogtle 3 and 4 became the first new nuclear units to be constructed in the USA in more than 30 years with unit 3 entering commercial operation in 2023 and unit 4 in 2024 The successful use of AP1000 technology at Vogtle is highlighted by Santee Cooper in its announcement It also claims that Summer is "the only site in the USA that could deliver 2,200 MWs of nuclear capacity on an accelerated timeline" located in the "nuclear envelope" of the existing VC Summer station site - home to an operating single-unit pressurised water plant - with water and transmission infrastructure upgrades built to accommodate output from the units By Brian Beach The continuing resolution recently passed by Congress avoided a government shutdown but it also means some Nebraska communities that were expecting federal funds for water projects are out of luck The Santee Sioux Nation in northern Nebraska is one of them Deb Fischer included $8.25 million for the project through a congressionally directed spending request last year But the appropriations bill that included the earmark was never scheduled for a vote Congress passed continuing resolutions in both December and March keeping the government open by funding agencies at similar levels to the previous year That means most earmarks for special projects weren't included Santee Sioux vice chairman Kameron Runnels said the process has left him frustrated "I get it that the political environment everything's changing right now and stuff but we're kind of being left in the dust because of that," he said "Everyone seems to be forgetting about us." Last fall, things were looking more optimistic for the Santee. At a tribal council meeting in September, Clinton Powell, the tribe's engineer, said the pipeline would be fully funded in the coming months In addition to the $8.25 million appropriation from Fischer's appropriation bill the tribe was expecting to receive $11 million from the Indian Health Service and other state and federal funds to complete the $52 million project The pipeline was expected to be operational by fall 2027 "It's just an unfortunate situation that these federal agencies have been dragging their feet or going through these government changes," Runnels said but we still have faith that these guys are going to make the right decision for us." Runnels said the tribal council hopes the funding request is included in a spending bill for the next fiscal year As project delays drive up costs due to inflation he said the tribe may need more than $8.25 million in future years "We probably even need more than what we had asked Senator Fisher's office for in that congressional spending request," he said "So I'm hoping that Senator Fisher continues to support this project and continues to put funding aside for for it." In a statement to Nebraska Public Media News Fischer wrote that Congress needs to debate individual appropriation bills instead of package resolutions “Because Leader Schumer would not bring forward individual appropriations bills last Congress we were forced to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government open," she wrote "By hitting autopilot on current spending levels we miss the chance to direct funds to critical Nebraska projects Congress must return to passing individual appropriations bills which provides transparency and accountability over how the federal government spends Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars." Santee Sioux leadership is planning to visit Washington D.C in April to meet with the state congressional delegation to advocate for the pipeline Get the latest from around Nebraska delivered to your inbox online and mobile platforms.Your support is essential Will apply to facilities that require 50MW or more South Carolina’s state-owned utility Santee Cooper has enacted a new special electricity rate on data centers and other large load customers across its coverage area Executives at the company said the new rate is required to ensure data centers are covering the cost of generating the electricity they use to prevent the costs falling on other rate payers The new rate was voted in unanimously at a board meeting last Friday (25 April) and will come into force immediately It will only apply to large load customers who require 50MW of power or more and will run for four years on an “experimental” basis before the board considers whether to implement the rate permanently large load users will be required to sign a 15-year contract with the utility the utility will have the ability to charge more for power during periods of high demand the new rules will require large load users to ramp up to their full contracted power usage within three years to prevent companies from overselling and not meeting their contracted capacity It comes into effect as Santee Cooper grapples with increasing demand from the data center sector across its footprint director of billing and pricing at the company said that he anticipates that more than 1GW of new power capacity could be required to meet the demand from large load customers by 2030 the new capacity would represent “significant growth for a system the size of ours.” the utility stressed it is still welcoming large loads to the state “We do welcome large loads because they’re good loads for the system because of their size and operating characteristics they’re difficult for Santee Cooper to absorb,” Smith said Some concerns were voiced during the board meeting with worries over whether the new rules are coming into force too quickly new rates would take around 18 months to come into effect in order to allow for vetting and implementation the new rates were brought in after a matter of months Santee Cooper has announced plans for several new power generation projects in an attempt to meet soaring demand. Earlier this year, the utility launched a Request for Proposals to acquire and complete or propose alternatives for two partially constructed generating units at the Virgil C Summer Nuclear Power Station in Fairfield County The new rules are similar to several other utility companies, which have enacted similar rules to manage the growth of the data center sector. Earlier this year Indiana Michigan Power enacted a revised tariff agreement that ensures that large load users like data centers will pay for the grid upgrades necessary to serve them preventing the costs from being passed on to existing customers Another example is American Electric Power Ohio which submitted a settlement agreement last year to address data center power demand will require new data center customers to pay for a minimum of 85 percent of the energy they say they need each month to cover the cost of infrastructure required to bring electricity to those facilities Data Centre Dynamics Ltd (DCD), 32-38 Saffron Hill, London, EC1N 8FH Email. [email protected]DCD is a subsidiary of InfraXmedia Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInSANTEE (WBTV) - A casino could be coming to South Carolina after a new bill was introduced in the state legislature last month The bill was first introduced in the state House of Representatives on March 6 and is co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 17 lawmakers Four of those sponsors were just added April 8 casinos would be legalized in a select number of counties counties must fall into the lowest job tax credit tier Counties would have to request that the state grant applicants a casino license One of the counties that would be eligible to have a casino is Orangeburg County Santee Development Corporation -- which is headed by prominent businessman Wallace Cheves -- has drawn up plans and studied the economic impact of a casino in the town The group’s plans and study were published online, and proposed putting a casino at the corner of Mall and Knowles streets where the abandoned Santee outlet mall currently stands The site is right off I-95 near a handful of hotels and less than two miles from Lake Marion and has already been bought by Santee Development Corporation According to the Santee Development Corporation webpage where the plans and economic study were published the proposed Santee casino would be funded “solely through private investment” with no public money used is exploring a private investment plan to revitalize and transform an economically challenged region of our state through the development of a world-class billion-dollar destination resort and casino,” Cheves said in a statement “We strongly believe that this investment should be driven by private enterprise ensuring no financial risk to the public sector,” his statement continued “That’s why we are fully committed to not seeking a single dime of local or state funding—whether through incentives or other subsidies—if the General Assembly passes the necessary legislation and local support is secured for this carefully planned single-casino initiative.” The webpage said the proposed site would include the casino The page said the complex would be a “one-of-its-kind destination” and called the opportunity to build “tangible transformative and life-changing” for Orangeburg County If the House bill were to pass and the Santee plans were to go through the Santee Development Corporation study found that it would bring in four million annual visitors and could raise more than $75 million in annual tax revenue The study said the casino complex would create more than 4,600 direct indirect and induced jobs in South Carolina and said building it would bring “significant” economic advantages to other businesses in surrounding communities Cheves said the complex would cost about $1 billion to build and would have an estimated $8 billion impact on the state’s economy within its first 10 years Before any plans for the casino can be pursued the South Carolina government must first pave the way so the House bill must be passed in order for any plans to become a reality As of April 9, state legislative records showed that the bill was referred to the Ways and Means committee on March 6 Other than six representatives signing on as sponsors Regarding the bipartisan group who co-sponsored the bill six were Republicans and 11 were Democrats The bill can be read in its entirety here Also Read: Bill that could legalize marijuana in North Carolina filed by representative from Charlotte – Santee Cooper personnel are making preparations for the effects anticipated winter weather may have on Santee Cooper’s customers Approximately 2 million South Carolinians depend on the state-owned electric and water utility as their power source either directly or through the state’s electric cooperatives.  Santee Cooper moved to Operating Condition (OpCon) 4 alert status This means there is a possible threat to Santee Cooper’s electric system but effects may be limited or uncertain.  “Santee Cooper is monitoring the weather and preparing accordingly to help us be best positioned to keep the lights on for all of our customers across the state,” said Vicky Budreau the extreme cold weather means customers will be using more electricity We encourage customers to be aware of their energy use and implement energy-saving measures to help combat higher bills.”  Heating is responsible for much of the increased electricity used during extended cold weather Heat pumps work harder and longer to make up the difference in temperatures Cold and freezing temperatures also may cause your emergency heat Customers can take the following steps to help use less energy while staying comfortable in their homes:  fuel costs also may increase with higher electricity use across the entire Southeast vary their fuel charges to customers based on actual decreases or increases in fuel costs As electric demand increases during cold weather more fuel is used to generate the electricity needed to keep up with the higher that higher demand.  Customers can report outages and find information on storm safety including generator and downed power line safety Customers also can report outages at 888-769-7688 Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application Teresa Ann Santee, 65 of South Sioux City 2024 at a local hospital from her chronic health issues and a Memorial Service will be at 11:00 a.m 2025 at Mohr & Becker-Hunt Funeral Home in South Sioux City  Burial will be at a later date among family in Pender will be one hour prior to services on Thursday and Charlotte was a homemaker originally from Pender She grew up on the family farm and was close to her grandparents She attended a country grade school and then graduated from Lyons High School in 1978 where she majored in Special Education for a time.  She joined the army in the early 1980s but was honorably discharged after becoming severely injured she worked as a CNA until she moved to McCook Lake South Dakota where she met Jim Santee and married him in 1987 in Jefferson they would welcome their first child together Less than 2 years later they welcomed a daughter in 1990 Teresa worked off- and -on throughout as a CNA in nursing homes and the service industry but most of the time was spent as a stay-at-home-mom Most of the last nineteen years of her life were spent taking care of her disabled husband after he suffered an acute stroke She was a member of First Lutheran Church for a significant amount of time living in South Sioux City and was a Sunday school teacher for some years while her children were young It was no secret that Teresa had mental health issues and received services from Heartland Counseling Teresa especially appreciated and loved her therapist Teresa was an advocate for anyone that she knew that was struggling and approached every situation with compassion-not judgement The Staff and Clients were like a family to her and will miss her very much especially her extended family at the Life Center She had an optimistic attitude that never seemed to waver and a sparkle that never lost its luster The saying “A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet," attributed to William Butler Yeats is the way she lived her life She took great pleasure in saying kind words to everyone She always looked for the positive and didn’t dwell on the negative Everyone who got to know Teresa loved her because of these wonderful qualities and if you met her and did not take the time to appreciate and love her for the person that she was then you really missed out on the joy of who she truly was This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors The RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing continues its focus on environmental efforts by teaming up with Palmetto Electric Cooperative and Santee Cooper to power the state’s largest sporting event with 100% homegrown environmentally sound Santee Cooper Green Power RBC Heritage has made the resounding commitment to help preserve the planet by using Green Power delivered by Palmetto Electric and generated by Santee Cooper to power every putt and drive of the PGA Tour golf tournament The tournament plays at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island from April 14 to April 20 “Tradition is important to us at the Heritage Classic Foundation We are proud to be celebrating 17 years of using Green Power to power the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing,” said RBC Heritage President and Tournament Director Steve Wilmot “We will continue to work with Santee Cooper and Palmetto Electric to be a leader for sustainability in golf.” Santee Cooper generates Green Power from clean renewable energy sources including landfill gas solar power and a demonstration wind power project – all right here in South Carolina Palmetto Electric Cooperative is one of the first cooperatives in the state to offer Green Power to its members and it continues to promote Green Power to its member owners “Pairing the RBC Heritage’s commitment to environmental stewardship with clean Green Power is a win for the environment and for South Carolina,” said Palmetto Electric President and CEO Berl Davis “It’s been an amazing partnership over the last 17 years Palmetto Electric is proud to be a leader in Green Power sales in South Carolina.” Santee Cooper became the first utility to generate green power and offer it for sale in South Carolina in 2001 when it opened the Horry County Landfill Generating Station which produces electricity from gas created by naturally decomposing refuse Santee Cooper now has six landfill gas stations in commercial operation solar arrays generating power for the grid and 29 demonstration solar projects at middle schools around the state including two in partnership with Palmetto Electric and Santee Cooper have a proud history of joining together to power the PGA golf tournament with sustainable and locally sourced Green Power,” said Jimmy Staton “This strong partnership highlights our shared dedication to the environment and the state.” Customers of the state’s electric cooperatives and Santee Cooper can purchase Green Power each month through their electric bills Green Power is Green-e Energy certified and meets the environmental and consumer-protection standards set forth by the nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions About the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing The RBC Heritage is South Carolina’s Signature PGA TOUR event Played over the Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island since 1969 the event is celebrating its 57th year April 14-20 distributes the proceeds from the tournament to hundreds of non-profit organizations Since it was founded as a 501(c)(3) in 1987 the Foundation has donated $56.9 million to people in need For information on how to "Get Your Plaid On!" call 843.671.2448 visit www.rbcheritage.com or Facebook (RBC Heritage) and Twitter (@RBC_Heritage) Palmetto Electric Cooperative is a not-for-profit electrical distribution utility that is owned by the members it serves The Cooperative serves over 80,000 consumers in southern Beaufort Palmetto Electric’s mission is to provide diversified innovative energy and related services to its members consistent with sound business practices while always acting in a community-building leadership role Palmetto Electric is also a member of Touchstone Energy consumer-owned electric cooperatives providing high standards of service to customers large and small More than 700 Touchstone Energy cooperatives in 46 states are delivering energy and energy solutions to approximately 40 million customers every day Touchstone Energy cooperatives serve their members with integrity innovation and a longstanding commitment to communities – Santee Cooper retail offices in Myrtle Beach and Moncks Corner will be closed Wednesday in anticipation of slick roads and other potential weather challenges They will remain closed Thursday because of forecasted icy conditions.  Customers can do business with us anytime using the MEL app The app allows users to set high bill alerts They can also reach customer service at 800-804-7424 Please report any downed power lines at 888-769-7688 Santee Cooper teams across the company are ready for the cold temperatures and possible outages. Customers can report and track outages at stormcenter.santeecooper.com. Wednesday and open when it’s safe to do so (WPDE) — As storms roll into the Grand Strand and the Pee Dee a number of power outages have struck downtown Conway Santee Cooper reported several power outages in the Conway area affecting around 1,100 customers Santee Cooper one area affecting 344 customers this area south of downtown is no longer reported as an outage by Santee Cooper MORE: Line of potentially severe storms rolls through Monday evening Santee Cooper reported an outage in downtown Conway affecting 736 people the downtown area of Conway's power has been restored also reported an outage in the Longs area affecting around 1,400 customers Stay up to date on weather updates on our site and through our WPDE Weather Authority app which reflect customers’ March electric use many of us will start to watch the clock a little more closely That’s because the new residential rates include a Peak Hours charge we’re here to give you some easy tips and tricks primarily moving energy-intensive appliances away from Peak Hours so you could save money on your power bill That gives you 21 hours every day to use big appliances without hitting peak rates your best bet is to run appliances and equipment like clothes dryers dishwashers and water heaters during the 21 hours of the day that are not Peak Hours Consider using a timer for your water heater We also recommend a timer for your pool pump A smart thermostat can also help you avoid Peak Hours You can set it to pre-heat or pre-cool your home so your heat pump isn’t running during those hours you can adjust the temperature from your smart device who is served by a different power company that also includes a peak charge was able to cut her bill in half by avoiding peak times but staggering or delaying big appliances really made a difference for her online Santee Cooper Marketplace for energy-saving gadgets to help you Defeat The Peak and Bank The Savings we’re mailing all our residential customers a letter explaining how their bills could be affected by the new rates It will include a Peak Hours reminder magnet We recommend you put that on your clothes dryer or dishwasher as a cue to try to avoid peak hours We understand this is a change, and we’re here to help. You can find more tips and dig deeper into the rates on DefeatThePeakSC.com. If you still have questions, email customercare@santeecooper.com – Santee Cooper expects near-historic water flows coming from North Carolina and making their way downstream into Lake Marion The utility began drawing down the lake last week to make room for incoming water and will increase the volume of spilling as those inflows are increasing Santee Cooper’s dams and dikes are secure and this spill will help maintain their integrity through this period of extreme inflows Santee Cooper System Operators expect inflows to Lake Marion to reach about 2 million gallons per second (about 280,000 cubic feet per second) Santee Cooper plans to increase the spill to a little less than 1 million gallons per second (130,000 cfs) beginning Tuesday there could be flooding in the Santee River floodplain as early as Thursday or Friday this week and flooding should be expected in the same areas in Georgetown County as experienced in 2015 and 2020 when the utility also conducted major spills Flooding will be more significant in areas closer to U.S The Santee Cooper team is working with local and state authorities to manage any related issues Residents in the floodplain area are encouraged to remain alert and use caution in traveling through the area Property owners and others connected to the floodplain receive notifications any time Santee Cooper initiates or changes a spill through the Spillway. Anyone interested in getting on the notification list can send an email with your request to OperationsPlanning@santeecooper.com or call 843-761-8000 ext Spilling will continue until further notice and developments will be noted on Santee Cooper’s Facebook page and Twitter feed Information will also be updated each business day on the lake information line at 1-800-92LAKES Visitors climb an observation platform at Santee National Wildlife Refuge along Lake Marion Columbiana Station is on Bower Parkway in the Harbison area of Columbia a $5 million Kiawah Island home is being sold as part of its owner's sentencing for embezzlement A swath of unspoiled nature along Lake Marion will remain under Uncle Sam’s care for at least another four decades Santee Cooper last week approved a new 40-year lease with the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service for 8,000 acres owned by the state water and power utility The rural parcel along the north shore of the lake is made up of four federally managed "units" known as Bluff They include a historic 1,200-year-old Native American mound and the site of the Fort Watson battle during the Revolutionary War The utility-owned property makes up more than half of the 13,000-acre Santee National Wildlife Refuge near Summerton which has been leasing the land since the 1940s owns the balance of the recreational nature reserve which includes more than 40 miles of hiking trails and 39 miles of lake frontage The real estate deal with Moncks Corner-based Santee Cooper is at no cost to U.S According to its website, the refuge was established “to benefit migratory waterfowl other birds and terrestrial and aquatic wildlife found within the ecosystem of the Lake Marion reservoir a myriad of wildlife species inhabit the diverse landscapes .. A disgraced Connecticut lawyer and bank executive who’s heading to prison for embezzling $7.4 million over a decade spent some of his ill-gotten gains on a high-end Lowcountry getaway — and to pay a local tax collector used his trusted position as legal counsel at two banks to orchestrate the scheme which was discovered about two years ago and generally involved diverting proceeds from loan and real estate transactions to his personal use from 2013 to 2023 Blose spent $284,000 on a lot for a vacation home he later built on Kiawah Island More than $54,000 went to the Charleston County for taxes according to the government’s sentencing memorandum Real estate records show Blose acquired the nearly half-acre property on New Settlement Road for $675,000 in 2016 He transferred ownership to his wife’s name in 2023 According to Zillow the 3,651-square-foot home along Bass Pond near Rhett's Bluff was built about six years ago It’s now being marketed for just under $5 million Blose’s lawyer said in a court documents that the anticipated closing date is May 19 and that the net proceeds from the sale will go toward restitution Blose, 56, was sentenced to four years in federal prison last week followed by three years in a supervised release program Town & Country has leaned into the latter part of its name to come up with new list that includes a Johns Island vacation getaway The publication's April issue named The Dunlin, an Auberge Resort that opened last year on the Kiawah River property to make its ranking of the  “Best New Country Retreats.” The lifestyle magazine described the category as new lodgings in rural areas "that are anything but rustic.” The full-service Dunlin checked in its first guests in August offering a “retreat-style” waterfront getaway that aims to differentiate itself from a stay in the hustle and bustle of  downtown Charleston The starting nightly room rate is around $749 Town & Country pointed to the resort's three dining options and sunsets "in the riverine silence” among the reasons to go a downtown boutique hotel has landed on another magazine's to-do list Condé Nast Traveler editors included Zero George among their picks of the best places to bunk down in the world The publication's "Gold List 2025 listed 10 U.S. properties Veteran hospitality duo Dean Porter Andrews and Lynn Easton established Zero George at East Bay and George streets in 2012 starting with the conversion of three restored historic residences and two brick carriage houses One of the biggest commercial real estate transactions in the Midlands market last year didn’t pay off for the sellers An investment fund operated by pension giant Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America reported in a filing with investors last week that it booked a $6 million loss on the $43 million sale of Columbiana Station which it had owned through a joint venture The deal with Seattle-based Bridge33 Capital closed on Nov The nearly 375,000-square foot retail, dining and entertainment center is neat Bower Parkway and Harbison Boulevard Its anchor tenants include Dick's Sporting Goods John McDermott and Jenny Peterson of The Post and Courier contributed to this report (WPDE) — Santee Cooper officials have restored over 27,000 customers' power in the Myrtle Beach area due to a vehicle hitting a pole on Thursday morning TRENDING: Carolina Forest High School hoax raises concerns over new student cell phone policy Sources told ABC15 that a van hit a pole at Joe's Diner by the Airport The Town of Surfside Beach reported that all of the traffic lights in their area were out Surfside Beach Police were directing traffic in town during the outages Santee Cooper officials said that they were switching lines to feed the substations until crews can make repairs Santee School District students have improved in both math and reading between 2019 and 2024. That’s according to the latest Education Recovery Scorecard which measures district-level math and reading performance About 100 districts in the country are performing at or above pre-pandemic levels in both math and reading The Cardiff School District is the only other district in San Diego County included in the report that also improved in both subjects between 2019 and 2024 Paying attention to the whole child has made a difference in Santee according to Pride Academy Principal Kristen Bonser “Sometimes an academic conversation can turn into a social “That student might not be making progress in reading or math because there's something going on at home and maybe we can support that family with something.” Superintendent Kristin Baranski said the district used federal pandemic aid to hire a full-time counselor at each school and reduce class sizes She said their ratio for fourth to eighth grades went from 32 students to one teacher to 29 to one “Even a number of kids can make a difference when you're trying to make those meaningful connections with your students and their families,” she said Baranski said the district also started back in-person earlier in the pandemic than many other districts bringing students back for half days every day starting in September 2020 Teachers have also completed training on math instruction to help students master foundational skills “We're really focusing on depth versus quantity,” Bonser said “We're not asking students to do tons and tons and tons of problems to show their understanding What we are doing is asking them to think about more complex problems and have more conversations around them.” Student attendance remains a challenge across San Diego County more students are missing school now than before the pandemic Reggie — a staff member’s golden retriever who’s on campus every day — has helped “We often will use him if a kid's struggling to get out of a car in the morning,” Bonser said “If they're feeling upset or anxious about something Reggie will go greet them at the vehicle and they can escort him to their classroom.” Staff meet to analyze their attendance data biweekly and discuss individual families’ needs Pride Academy has worked to create a sense of community using student clubs a new visual and performing arts program and military family nights “When students feel a sense of belonging at school they feel more comfortable in a learning environment,” said school counselor Gaby Martinez Like many other districts, Santee expects enrollment to continue to decline as the population ages and people have fewer children Baranski said the school board and staff are applying for grants to continue funding counselors – Celebrate The Season is back for a 14th year of warming hearts Celebrate The Season’s Holiday Lights Driving Tour takes place daily from 6 p.m Holiday In The Park festivities will take place on Fridays and Saturdays from Dec Admission is only $10 per vehicle and $20 per bus with all ticket proceeds being donated to local charities Visitors will enjoy Celebrate The Season’s mile-long Holiday Lights Driving Tour where festive displays with thousands of colorful LEDs complement the natural scenery of Old Santee Canal Park Visitors can enjoy the driving tour as many times as they like on the day they purchase their ticket.  The festive Holiday In The Park fairs take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. over two weekends: Dec. 13-14 and Dec. 20-21. Bring your family and friends to get into the holiday spirit with food, local entertainment, holiday gift vendors, free visits with Santa, marshmallow roasting, and many other activities. Entry is included with admission to the Holiday Lights Driving Tour. More information is available at www.celebratetheseason.org.  All the brilliantly colored LED lighting displays are powered by 100% Santee Cooper Green Power, which is Green-e Energy certified and meets the environmental and consumer-protection standards set forth by the nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions. Learn more at www.green-e.org.  presented by Berkeley Electric Cooperative and organized by Santee Cooper and Old Santee Canal Park has donated $1.3 million to local charities In a strategic move to enhance efficiency and meet growing energy demands Santee Cooper is undertaking a $470 million expansion of its Rainey Generating Station (RGS) as a Shared Resource with Central Electric Power Cooperative Inc The expansion includes taking two GE 7FA.03 simple-cycle units designated Units 2A and 2B and converting them into a combined cycle unit The combined-cycle conversion project involves installing two heat-recovery steam generators and a wet mechanical draft cooling tower and associated components These upgrades will capture the waste heat from the two existing simple-cycle units and use that heat to generate nearly 200 megawatts (MW) of additional electricity – with no increase in the emissions rate and without having to build an additional generating station Simple-cycle units operate by using combustion turbines to generate electricity but they do not utilize the waste heat produced in the process By transitioning to a combined-cycle configuration the facility will now capture and repurpose this excess heat to power a steam turbine generating additional electricity without more fuel This approach boosts overall efficiency and supports modern energy sustainability goals "This combined-cycle conversion project will play a vital role in ensuring reliable power for our growing population,” said Jimmy Staton The expansion and additional capacity to the grid will support both retail and industrial energy needs the upgrade will contribute to grid stability and provide greater operational flexibility RGS was originally designed with future expansion in mind The generating station commenced commercial operation in January 2002 with a 500 MW combined-cycle unit two 150 MW simple-cycle combustion turbines were also brought online The layout of the station was strategically planned to facilitate expansion without requiring major modifications Adequate space was allocated for the steam turbine and the installation of a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) behind the two gas turbines and control systems were all designed to accommodate future growth seamlessly Central’s President and CEO Rob Hochstetler who heads the utility supplying power to the state’s electric cooperatives The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2027 The project will create seven full-time positions as well as approximately 300 temporary jobs during construction and generator step-up transformer (GSU) went out in 2024 with installation set to commence in 2026 and continue through 2027 The necessary air permits for the expansion have already been received ensuring a smooth transition to the next phase of the project As Santee Cooper seeks to balance reliability with sustainability combined-cycle technology continues to play a crucial role in the transition toward cleaner energy solutions The upgrade at Rainey Generation Station marks another milestone in the industry’s evolution ensuring a resilient power infrastructure for years to come