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Santee Cooper’s Proposed 2026 Energy Plan: What South Carolina Customers Should Know

Santee Cooper’s proposed energy plan adds several resources as the utility forecasts higher demand. Here’s what the filing says, how it differs from separate proposed rate increases, and what customers should watch.

By CarCody Team 4 min read
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Santee Cooper’s proposed 2026 energy plan would add gas-fired generation, firm and peaking capacity, a 300 MW battery, and power from two V.C. Summer nuclear units if they are restarted. It is not approved, and the available evidence does not show that the plan itself caused the utility’s separate proposed 2027 and 2028 rate increases. The concern for customers is that major long-term resource choices are under review while higher rates are also being proposed.

What is Santee Cooper proposing?

Santee Cooper filed its 2026 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) with the South Carolina Public Service Commission on September 30, 2026. The PSC docket lists the application as a pending proceeding, so this is a proposal—not a final approval or a commitment that every listed resource will be built. An IRP is a long-range plan for meeting projected electricity demand while considering cost, reliability, flexibility, and environmental effects, as the South Carolina Energy Office explains.

The utility describes its preferred portfolio as a mix of resources intended to meet forecast demand and maintain reliable service:

  • Gas-fired combined-cycle generation.
  • Anticipated power from two partially completed V.C. Summer nuclear units, if the project is restarted. The plan does not mean those units are currently restarting or that their completion is assured.
  • Additional firm or peaking capacity, including about 350 MW of firm capacity needed during 2027–2032. Santee Cooper and Central Electric Power Cooperative say they will jointly consider specific resources for that need.
  • A proposed 300 MW battery energy storage system at Pinopolis.

The plan’s status and resource outline appear in Santee Cooper’s September 29 announcement; the PSC docket contains the filing and proceeding status.

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Why does Santee Cooper say it needs more capacity?

Santee Cooper’s 2026 forecast puts winter peak demand 1,250 MW above the forecast in its 2023 IRP by 2030, and 1,375 MW above that earlier forecast by 2040. These are comparisons between forecasts, not measurements of demand that has already materialized. The utility argues that new resources are needed to serve anticipated growth and support reliability.

President and CEO Jimmy Staton said the preferred plan is intended to provide flexibility for fast-growing demand and economic development, while adding resources that the utility expects to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. That is Santee Cooper’s rationale, not an independent finding that the portfolio is the least-cost or lowest-risk option.

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What could the plan mean for emissions?

Santee Cooper projects that greenhouse-gas emissions under its preferred plan would be about 43% of 2005 levels by 2035 and fall below 40% of 2005 levels by 2050. Those are the utility’s projections for its preferred plan, not independently verified outcomes. The portfolio’s mix also makes the trade-off worth examining: it includes new gas resources as well as a possible nuclear contribution and battery storage.

Customers and regulators can assess the proposal by comparing projected system cost and customer bills, reliability against the demand forecast, emissions and fuel mix, project schedules and execution risk, and how costs and benefits would be divided between Santee Cooper and its partners. The public summaries cited here do not provide enough detail to independently score the 2026 portfolio on those measures or quantify customer bills attributable specifically to this IRP.

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Are the proposed rate increases caused by the new energy plan?

That connection has not been established in the available official summaries. Santee Cooper’s proposed rate changes are part of a separate rate study, and should not be presented as a direct consequence of the IRP without evidence linking the proceedings. The utility’s current proposal is:

Proposed change Retail classes, average base-rate increase Residential base-rate increase
2027 3.3% 4.7%
2028 3.1% 4.6%

These percentages are proposals from Santee Cooper’s 2026 rate study, not final rates. The utility’s residential rate page translates the proposed residential changes to about 20 cents per day, or $6.60 per month, for its example; an individual customer’s impact depends on usage and the final rate schedules. See Santee Cooper’s rate-study information for the proposal and its customer calculator.

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The rate-study proposal also includes Balanced Demand Billing for residential customers. Instead of basing demand billing on one highest-use hour, the proposed method averages a customer’s highest hourly use across the four highest peak periods in each month. It remains a proposal, and the utility says customers can consider when they use electricity to manage bills.

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What changed from Santee Cooper’s earlier plans?

The 2023 IRP, approved in February 2024, included coal-unit closures, joint natural-gas generation, and a substantial increase in solar. Santee Cooper’s 2025 update continued evaluating a joint gas facility, peaking units, batteries, and future solar procurement. The utility identified higher projected load and increased expected solar costs associated with accelerated tax-credit termination as important differences from the 2023 portfolio; it described its 2025 portfolio as most attractive when balancing cost, risk, and emissions. Details are in the 2025 IRP Update and the utility’s IRP page.

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The 2026 proposal moves the planning horizon forward with higher peak-load projections, additional dispatchable capacity, the Pinopolis battery, and anticipated power from a possible V.C. Summer restart. Those elements make project cost, timing, and responsibility for costs central questions for regulators as they evaluate the filing.

What should customers watch next?

The filing is open for PSC review. Customers looking to understand what may change should distinguish the resource-plan proceeding from the separate rate study and follow the records for both. In the IRP proceeding, the practical questions are whether the forecast and reliability need support the proposed resources, what alternatives cost, whether projects can meet their schedules, and how costs would be allocated. In the rate process, the key question is what rates and billing rules are ultimately approved.

Santee Cooper reports that its 2024–2026 planning process included 25 stakeholder sessions: 12 working-group meetings, nine technical meetings, and four general-notice meetings. It says participants included customers, government bodies, industries, environmental groups, community advocates, and Central Electric. Participation in planning does not substitute for the PSC’s review of the filed proposal.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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