Santee Cooper, also known officially from the 1930s as the South Carolina Public Service Authority, is South Carolina's state-owned electric and water utility that came into being during the New Deal as both a rural electrification and public works project that created two lakes and cleared large tracts of land while building hydro-electric dams and power plants.

As one of the largest power providers in South Carolina, Santee Cooper directly serves more than 165,000 residential and commercial customers in Berkeley, Georgetown, and Horry counties.

With a fuel and energy supply that includes coal, nuclear, oil, natural gas, hydroelectric, and other renewable sources, Santee Cooper supplies power to the cities of Bamberg and Georgetown, 30 large industrial customers, and Charleston Air Force Base.

[2] A board of directors appointed by the governor and approved by the state Senate governs Santee Cooper.

[5] Following the failure, the predominant issue facing the South Carolina General Assembly from 2018 until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was whether to sell Santee Cooper or to reform the utility's management.

[7] NextEra Energy, a Florida-based electric utility, bid to purchase Santee Cooper but withdrew in April 2021.

[8] In June 2021, the South Carolina General Assembly passed Act 90, overhauling the regulation of the utility but maintaining its state-owned status.

[10] Rates will continue to be set by the Santee Cooper Board of Directors but are subject to increased scrutiny.

Summer Nuclear Station operated by Dominion Energy South Carolina, which owns the remaining two-thirds.