Santee Electric Cooperative and solar
Santee Electric Cooperative is an electric cooperative serving about 35,356 homes in South Carolina. Here's what its rates and export rules mean for solar: for a typical customer, solar is worth it.
- Average price (2026 est.)
- 17.0¢8% above South Carolina average
- Typical bill
- $2181,289 kWh a month
- Exports credited
- ~18%Net billing (reduced export credit)
- Typical payback
- 10.8 yrs9.6 kW, cash
Export rules for Santee Electric Cooperative customers
Net billing (reduced export credit) (South Carolina rule).
Since June 2021 new solar customers of Duke Energy and Dominion Energy SC are on 'Solar Choice' tariffs: you're billed on time-of-use rates, solar offsets usage within the same period, and monthly excess is credited at the low avoided-cost rate (~2-4 c/kWh). Duke has a $30 minimum bill.
Solar for a typical Santee Electric Cooperative home
| System | 9.6 kW (90% of 1,289 kWh/month) |
|---|---|
| Cost | $27,020, $23,520 after incentives |
| First-year savings | $2,268 |
| Payback | 10.8 years |
| 25-year net | $36,194 |
Uses the utility's average price.
Solar adoption
- Homes with solar (2025)
- 276
- Share of customers
- 0.8%
- Residential solar capacity
- 2 MW
- Residential customers
- 35,356
EIA-861, 2025.
Questions about Santee Electric Cooperative and solar
Does Santee Electric Cooperative have net metering?
Santee Electric Cooperative follows South Carolina's rules: Since June 2021 new solar customers of Duke Energy and Dominion Energy SC are on 'Solar Choice' tariffs: you're billed on time-of-use rates, solar offsets usage within the same period, and monthly excess is credited at the low avoided-cost rate (~2-4 c/kWh). Duke has a $30 minimum bill.
How much does electricity cost with Santee Electric Cooperative?
Residential customers paid an average of 16.4¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA), about 17.0¢ adjusted to 2026. The typical home uses 1,289 kWh a month, a bill of about $218.
Is solar worth it with Santee Electric Cooperative?
For a typical customer, solar is worth it: a 9.6 kW system costing about $23,520 pays back in about 10.8 years, with $36,194 net over 25 years.
How many Santee Electric Cooperative customers have solar?
About 276 homes had net-metered solar at the end of 2025, roughly 0.8% of residential customers (EIA-861).
Legal name: Santee Electric Coop, Inc (EIA ID 16606). Data: EIA-861 2025 and monthly data through 2026, state policy research October 2026.