Looking back at 2025: a stronger system for South Carolina co-ops

As we close out 2025, we’re reflecting on a year marked by steady progress, thoughtful planning and continued commitment to the consumer-members served by South Carolina’s electric cooperatives. Central entered the year focused on reliability, affordability and innovation, and those priorities guided every decision we made. Together with our 19 distribution cooperatives, we advanced projects and initiatives that strengthen our statewide system and support a resilient energy future.

Strengthening our financial foundation

Central’s financial health remains a critical component of our ability to deliver reliable and affordable power. This year, both Fitch and S&P affirmed Central’s A+ credit rating — a strong endorsement of sound financial management, strategic planning and long-term stability. In addition, S&P revised its outlook on Central from negative to stable, reflecting confidence in our direction and performance.

To further modernize and fortify Central’s financial framework, the Board adopted three new policies: a comprehensive financial policy, a hedging policy to support prudent risk management and a trading authority and sanctions policy to ensure clear governance of trading activities. These updates enhance transparency, improve internal controls and position Central for continued financial strength.

Advancing major power supply initiatives

Central made meaningful progress this year across several major power supply initiatives. Central’s Board agreed to participate in two new generation resources with Santee Cooper and  agreed to a potential joint ownership arrangement with Duke Energy. These actions are expanding collaborative opportunities and reinforcing long-term resource adequacy for South Carolina’s growing energy needs.

Renewable energy development continued with the commercial operation of the Lambert I and Lambert II solar projects. These new resources add clean, zero-emission generation to the portfolio and deliver long-term value through predictable, affordable energy.

System modernization and technology advancements

Throughout 2025, Central continued to strengthen the systems and tools that support operational awareness, planning and long-term grid reliability. Several projects identified in the 2024 energy management and systems integration (EMOSI) project were completed or are currently underway. Central made progress on integrating distribution retail meter data and completed the buildout of historical meter data access, providing enhanced visibility for analysis and forecasting.

A number of key modernization initiatives were also completed or progressed this year, including the implementation of Power Monitoring Expert (PME), enhancements to GIS capabilities, targeted cybersecurity analysis supported by artificial intelligence and continued improvements to real-time telemetry and SCADA systems. Additional work remains underway on the development of a comprehensive Business Continuity Plan and the establishment of an off-site datacenter, both of which will strengthen resiliency and support long-term operational continuity.

Central also continued upgrades on Demand Side Tools (DST) that improve visibility into consumer-level programs and support future distributed energy resource integration. In addition, Central began upgrading DST to integrate all legacy load management processes into a single platform. This upgrade is designed to improve response time, expand operational capabilities and strengthen system reliability. By enabling communication with thousands of smart, dynamic devices, the upgraded platform will support Central in fully utilizing distributed energy resources as a system resource and capturing the value these member programs provide.

Central launched a full market potential study to evaluate opportunities with demand side management and continued progressing its retail meter data initiative, both of which support long-term forecasting and resource planning.

Investing in our people

This year, Central was named one of the Best Places to Work, a recognition that reflects our commitment to a positive, supportive workplace culture rooted in service and collaboration. Our people remain one of our greatest strengths.

Central expanded its benefits package in 2025, introducing new offerings to support employees and their families, including adoption assistance. The board also approved adding Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a company holiday and establishing an IVF medical expense reimbursement plan, both effective in 2026. These enhancements underscore Central’s commitment to supporting employees through every stage of life and providing meaningful benefits that reach beyond the workplace.

Looking ahead

The work we accomplished in 2025 reinforces our commitment to delivering reliable, affordable power to about 2 million South Carolinians served by our member cooperatives. We are grateful for the dedication of our teams, the leadership of our board of trustees and the collaboration of our partners. Together, we look forward to building on this momentum in 2026.