Today's Quote
"The elephant in the solar powered-room is that renewable energy production relies on taxpayer subsidies in order to keep prices artificially low."
-Dr. Margo Thorning, senior vice president and chief economist at the American Council for Capital Formation, a non-profit, non-partisan organization advocating energy polices that facilitate economic growth.
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e-blast is a weekly electronic newsletter created to provide the latest work of your state association, news from our member cooperatives and progress on issues important to us all.
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State's high rates linked to SCE&G
SCANA or Duke, who offers the cheaper residential rate? When do you take the snapshot? The Post and Courier reports on the tension between long term planning, consumer affordability and shareholder expectations. The Charleston newspaper found that South Carolina has the highest average rate in the southeast and linked that difference to SCE&G. SCE&G CEO Kevin Marsh told The Post and Courier that higher rates are a result of new generating facilities the company has built. He pointed out that Duke has benefited from operating facilities built in the 1970s and '80s. Duke Energy Carolinas has requested a rate increase this year that would raise residential bills by 18 percent. Rates charged by investor-owned utilities, which are approved by state regulators, are influenced by costs that range from tree-trimming to returns for shareholders. Related Story:
South Carolina has the highest residential electricity cost in the South, mostly due to SCE&G rates
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S.C. co-ops forward thinking on energy issues
 | | Hamilton Davis |
How well is South Carolina positioned to provide electricity at a fair rate when national climate policy creates tougher rules for utilities? Two guest columns in The State--one by Statewide's Mike Couick, one from the Coastal Conservation League's Hamilton Davis--agreed that the state's co-ops have an advantage, because they've been more forward thinking
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Mike Couick
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on energy issues. Davis contrasted the way cooperatives and other electric utilities operate, asking if SCE&G and Duke Energy will continue to focus on profits rather than efficiency. He cited S.C. cooperatives as an example of how others might operate: "The co-ops have a laudable strategy for retrofitting more than 200,000 homes and buildings to make them more energy efficient. They project this will eliminate enough energy demand to offset the need for a new coal plant." Couick expressed concern that climate policy not overlook the burden of higher rates on members: "The South Carolinians we serve in rural areas are 50 percent more likely to live below the poverty line. The president alluded to some exceptions for the poorest countries. Mr. President, electric cooperative trustees will be concerned also about poor South Carolinians." Related Stories:
Couick: Affordable power in a changing climateDavis: Doing nothing on climate change will cost S.C.
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Alcoa delivers second-quarter numbers
 | | Alcoa's Mt. Holly plant |
Despite reporting a $119 million second-quarter loss, Alcoa exceeded Wall Street's expectations for performance, in part because demand for aluminum from the auto and aircraft manufacturing industries is on the rise.
South Carolina decision-makers were among those taking note. Santee Cooper has been negotiating a new power contract with the aluminum maker. Because Alcoa earnings are the first reported each quarter, the company's performance is also viewed as an indicator of health for both the materials sector and the general economy.
"We expect a growth for this year of physical demand of seven percent," Alcoa CEO Klaus Kleinfeld told CNBC. "I can't predict where the metal price is going. I tend to believe we're seeing a low at this point."
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Record-breaking electric ride starts in S.C.
 | | Ride the Future Tour gets rolling in Charleston |
A caravan of electric cars, motorcycles and scooters began their cross-country trek from Charleston last week, with stops in Columbia and Greenville. Ride the Future aims to make the 3,745 mile trip to Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, fueled solely by electricity. If they succeed, they'll set Guinness records for the longest distance traveled by each of the vehicles.
Those vehicles include a a Nissan Leaf, a Zero motorcycle and Xenon scooters. Ride the Future founder Susan Jones is leading the trip to generate excitement about the potential of electric vehicles. Her route has been determined by the availability of charging stations and includes 44 stops. South Carolina's electric cooperatives provide 23 electric charging stations across the state.
Follow the trip here.
Related Story: All electric: This cross-country trek won't run out of gas
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Co-ops extend sympathies to trustee Dickert
 | Stacey and Chris McManus, with son Connor and daughter Meghan
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The South Carolina electric cooperative family extends its sympathies to Newberry Electric trustee Johnny Dickert, whose daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren were killed Monday in a plane crash in Alaska. Dickert's daughter Stacey McManus, her husband Chris and their children Meghan and Connor were on board a flight with another Greenville family when their small plane crashed before takeoff, killing all nine passengers and the pilot. The two families were flying from the Soldonta airport, 75 miles from Anchorage, to view bears in Chinitna Bay. A community memorial service will be held 11:00am Friday at Christ Church Episcopal, 10 North Church Street in Greenville. Memorial gifts may be made to the USC School of Medicine Greenville Scholarship Fund, South Carolina Donate Life or the Ronald McDonald House. Related Stories:
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Youth Tour Alum wraps year as Miss S.C.
 | Ali Rogers, photographed in Laurens for
South Carolina Living |
Miss South Carolina Ali Rogers tweeted on Friday: "The difference from last year in arriving at the hotel for #missSC week: I'm not wearing makeup this year. And it's awesome. #judgeme." Rogers, who represented Laurens Electric Cooperative on the 2009 Washington Youth Tour, was first runner up at last year's Miss America pageant. She won many fans with her down-to-earth style, which she showed again over the weekend at a press event. Instead of riding in the back of a delivery truck to kick off pageant week, as previous title holders have done, Rogers drove the truck. "When I pull up, I can just lay on the horn," she said in a story in The State. Rogers will crown the 2013 Miss South Carolina Saturday. Follow Ali Rogers on Twitter.
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