Santee Cooper is always working to keep our grid reliable, and when a storm heads our way, we are prepared to restore any outages as quickly and safely as possible. What you may not know is we also have a network of public power providers that are willing to come to our aid should we need them - and we do the same for them.
This year, the American Public Power Association (APPA) recognized Santee Cooper for the mutual aid assistance we provided to Orlando Utilities Commission in their restoration efforts in October 2024 following Hurricane Milton.
Santee Cooper sent five distribution crews to assist Orlando Utilities Commission, with the widespread outages it experienced.
“Mutual aid is at the heart of what public power does, and the public power community thanks you for stepping up to help a neighbor in need—whether they are next door or thousands of miles away,” said APPA President and CEO Scott Corwin.
In addition, we dispatched 12 distribution crews to assist other utilities within South Carolina following Hurricane Helene on Sept 27. Crews, which were first dispatched to Tallahassee, Florida were diverted to the Upstate. Santee Cooper sent 148 team members to help Aiken, Edisto and Newberry electric cooperatives, and the cities of Clinton, Abbeville and Rock Hill to help Hurricane Helene recovery efforts. Most were there for two weeks before returning home to their families.
Santee Cooper is proud to participate in the APPA’s Mutual Aid Network, which coordinates with utilities and authorities during widespread power outages. We understand the importance of helping those in need when they need it the most and also appreciate the other utilities who are there for us.