 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2023) |
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| Type | Cooperative |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electric Utility |
| Founded | 1940 |
| Headquarters | Ridgeland, South Carolina |
| Website | Palmetto Electric |
Palmetto Electric Cooperative Inc. is a non-profit electric utility cooperative headquartered in Ridgeland, South Carolina. It has a membership of approximately 66,000 customers. [1]
Palmetto Electric was formed in 1940 by a group of residents in response to the lack of service in rural areas by investor-owned utility companies. By 1942, the company began servicing Hampton County. Shortly thereafter, they began servicing Jasper County. In 1950, they energized the first lines to Hilton Head Island. [1]
Palmetto Electric Cooperative is governed by 12 trustees, six of whom reside in Beaufort County, three of whom reside in Hampton County, and three of whom reside in Jasper County. Board members serve terms of three years each. [2] As of January 2012, elected persons include:
Palmetto Electric services southern Beaufort, Hampton, and Jasper counties. There are offices located in the towns of Hampton, Hilton Head, Hardeeville, and Ridgeland. [3]
In 2017, Palmetto Electric donated $50,000 to the TCL's Criminal Justice Program towards their virtual weapons training system, which can be used by local law enforcement agencies to educate and improve the skills of law enforcement officers. [4]
Palmetto Electric receives 100% of its energy from Santee Cooper.
Jasper County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,791. Its county seat is Ridgeland and its largest community is Hardeeville. The county was formed in 1912 from portions of Hampton County and Beaufort County.
Beaufort County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 187,117. Its county seat is Beaufort and its largest community is Hilton Head Island.
Scouting in South Carolina has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
Bluffton is a town in southern Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population as of the 2020 census was 27,716, an increase of over 120% since 2010, making it one of the fastest growing municipalities in South Carolina. Bluffton is the fifth-most populous municipality in South Carolina by land area. It is primarily located around U.S. Route 278, between Hilton Head Island and Interstate 95. The Lowcountry town's original one square mile area, now known as Old Town, is situated on a bluff along the May River. Bluffton is a primary town within the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Hilton Head Island, often referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and 95 miles (153 km) southwest of Charleston. The island is named after Captain William Hilton, who in 1663 identified a headland near the entrance to Port Royal Sound, which mapmakers named "Hilton's Headland." The island features 12 miles (19 km) of beachfront on the Atlantic Ocean and is a popular vacation destination. In 2004, an estimated 2.25 million visitors infused more than $1.5 billion into the local economy. The year-round population was 37,661 at the 2020 census, although during the peak of summer vacation season the population can swell to 150,000. Hilton Head Island is the largest city within the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 215,908 in 2020.
Hampton is a town in Hampton County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,808 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Hampton County. The town and the county are named after Wade Hampton III, a Confederate general in the Civil War.
Varnville is a town in Hampton County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,162 as of the 2010 census. Varnville forms a twin town with Hampton, the county seat; the two towns often share civic and cultural events.
Hardeeville is a city in Jasper and Beaufort counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 7,473 as of the 2020 census, an increase of over 150% since 2010. Hardeeville is included within the Hilton Head Island–Bluffton metropolitan area.
Ridgeland is a town in Jasper and Beaufort counties, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,749 at the 2020 census, a 7.1% decrease from 2010. It has been the county seat of Jasper County since the county's formation in 1912. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Ridgeland is included within the Hilton Head Island–Bluffton metropolitan area.
Yemassee is a small Lowcountry town in Beaufort and Hampton counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 1,027 at the 2010 census. Yemassee is near the borders of Colleton and Jasper counties. The town is divided by the county line between Beaufort and Hampton counties, which follows the roadbed of the CSX railroad. Most of the town's population presently lies within Hampton County. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, the Beaufort County portion of Yemassee is included within the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Yemassee hosts one of the few commercial breeding facilities of non-human primates in the entire United States, Alpha Genesis, Inc., which serves as a major employer for the town. Also, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Auldbrass Plantation house and outbuildings lie just outside the town limits of Yemassee.
A utility cooperative is a type of cooperative that is tasked with the delivery of a public utility such as electricity, water or telecommunications to its members. Profits are either reinvested for infrastructure or distributed to members in the form of "patronage" or "capital credits", which are dividends paid on a member's investment in the cooperative.
South Carolina's 2nd congressional district is in central and southwestern South Carolina. The district spans from Columbia to the South Carolina side of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area.
Area codes 843 and 854 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for a portion of the U.S. state of South Carolina that comprises roughly the eastern third and the southern tip. The numbering plan area (NPA) includes the Grand Strand, the Lowcountry, the Pee Dee, and the Sandhills. Major cities in the region are Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Beaufort, Hilton Head Island and Florence. Area code 843 was created in 1998 when area code 803 was split, while 854 was added in 2015 to form an all-services overlay.
Clementa Carlos Pinckney was an American politician and pastor who served as a Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 45th District from 2000 until his death in 2015. He was previously a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1997 through 2000.
U.S. Route 278 (US 278) is a 146.130-mile (235.173 km) east–west United States highway that traverses through the South Carolina Lowcountry, from North Augusta to Hilton Head Island.
Hargray Communications is a telecommunications provider based on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, United States. It operates internet throughout the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and the Savannah region of Georgia. Hargray has a monopoly on parts of the Lowcountry offering cable television, broadband Internet, and landline services. Hargray formerly resold cellular phone service through Cricket.
The Technical College of the Lowcountry (TCL) is a public community college in Beaufort, South Carolina, that serves the Lowcountry region of South Carolina.
The Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority is a public water system and non-profit corporation which handles water and wastewater operations for many areas in Beaufort and Jasper counties in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. The Authority was created under the provisions of Act 784 by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1954 to provide services to Beaufort County. In 1969, its powers were expanded to include wastewater facility construction and services. In 1983, the authority merged with the Jasper County Water and Sewer Authority and thus adopting the BJWSA moniker.
The Hilton Head Island–Bluffton metropolitan area, officially the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is a metropolitan statistical area consisting of the two southernmost counties in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina, centered on the resort town of Hilton Head Island. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 215,908. Prior to March 2013, the region was considered a micropolitan statistical area.