National Co-op Month: celebrating the cooperative difference
October is National Cooperative Month, shining a light on the impact of the cooperative model and the people behind it. Across South Carolina, 19 local electric cooperatives collectively serve more than 2 million people, each one deeply connected to the community it serves.
This month, and throughout the year, we’re proud to celebrate the shared accomplishments across the cooperative system in South Carolina and highlight the cooperative difference.
What role does Central play?
Central Electric Power Cooperative is a not-for-profit, generation and transmission cooperative owned by South Carolina’s 19 independent, consumer-owned electric distribution cooperatives.
Central works on behalf of our member cooperatives to provide wholesale power and transmission solutions in a reliable and cost-effective way. That means helping ensure our members have the power supply, transmission infrastructure, and long-term resources they need to serve homes, businesses, and communities across South Carolina.
Rooted in values
South Carolina’s electric cooperatives are focused on serving their members rather than shareholders. Central operates under that same model, existing solely for the benefit of our 19 member cooperatives across the state. Across the cooperative network, that member-focused approach guides decisions about everything from reliable power and long-term planning to community investment and economic development.
We are all guided by the Seven Cooperative Principles. These principles shape how cooperatives serve their members, work together, and invest in their communities every day.
The Seven Cooperative Principles are:
- Voluntary and Open Membership
- Democratic Member Control
- Members’ Economic Participation
- Autonomy and Independence
- Education, Training, and Information
- Cooperative Among Cooperatives
- Concern for Community
The Cooperative Difference
The cooperative difference extends well beyond delivering electricity. Across South Carolina, electric cooperatives invest in programs, partnerships, and initiatives designed around the needs of the communities they serve. Central supports that work through collaboration with our member cooperatives and partners across the state.
In support of Laurens Electric Cooperative and its members, Central was a proud sponsor of the annual Laurens Electric Golf Tournament hosted earlier this year. All event proceeds went to the Cooperative Caring program and the Community Impact Initiative. The Cooperative Caring program helps members pay their electric bills and has helped more than 2,500 families so far. The Community Impact Initiative provides grants of up to $2,000 to local charities that enrich the quality of life in our communities with innovative, creative, and practical solutions.
Newberry Electric Cooperative hosted their 2026 Operation Round Up Golf Tournament. Over the past 13 years, the Newberry Electric Cooperative Women Involved in Rural Electrification (WIRE) Chapter has prioritized community outreach and making a difference in the lives of others. This year’s tournament raised $33,465 for the WIRE Chapter and the Community Care Fund for Operation Round Up.
For the third year, Central was a sponsor of Santee Electric Cooperative’s Cooperative LIGHT Program, which lights the way for students in need and provides essential resources in the cooperative’s service areas, including Williamsburg, Georgetown, Clarendon, and Florence County. Initiatives like these demonstrate how the cooperative model can make an impact beyond the electric system itself.
Member Advocacy
Cooperation gives South Carolina’s electric cooperatives a collective voice on issues affecting the communities they serve.
Earlier this year, Central Electric Power Cooperative joined electric cooperative leaders from across the state for 2026 Co-op Day, providing an opportunity to engage with state leaders about issues important to the electric cooperatives and their members.
With approximately 79,000 miles of power lines spanning 70% of the state, South Carolina’s electric cooperatives have a statewide presence that gives an important perspective as our community considers its future energy needs. While each of South Carolina’s electric cooperatives is independently governed and focused on the needs of its own members, they also share a commitment to working together for the benefit of communities across the state.
That spirit of cooperation is at the heart of the cooperative difference, and it is something worth celebrating during National Cooperative Month and throughout the year.
