Central Electric Power Cooperative, Inc.

We’re thrilled to recognize the work anniversary milestones of three outstanding team members at Central this March: ? Leslie Maley, CPA, VP of Planning & Power Supply, marks 5 years with Central, driving strategic planning and power supply initiatives to strengthen our cooperative. ? Scott Shirey, Contacts Analyst, celebrates his 2-year anniversary with Central, helping to optimize our customer interactions and data management. ? Charlotte Cox, Administrative Assistant II, celebrates her 1-year anniversary with Central, providing invaluable administrative support to ensure smooth operations. We are grateful for your hard work, commitment, and valuable contributions to our success. Here’s to many more years of excellence together! #WorkAnniversary #EmployeeAppreciation

Central Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. was proud to have CEO Rob Hochstetler and EVP Cole Price, among others, represent us at the 2025 NRECA PowerXchange held earlier this month in Atlanta, Georgia. Cole spoke on a PowerXchange panel titled "Power Surge: Tackling the Energy Demand Challenge" addressing how electric co-ops are adapting to electrification of transportation, industrial processes, data centers and residential energy use. The panel examined the strain on existing infrastructure, the need for resilient grid systems and the integration of renewable energy sources. Other panelists included Courtney Dentlinger, Vice President of Customer Service and External Affairs at Nebraska Public Power District; Zachary Zimmerman, Research and Policy Manager at Grid Strategies LLC; and Allison Hamilton, Director of Markets and Rates at NRECA, who moderated the panel. PowerXchange is NRECA’s premier annual event, bringing together thousands of cooperative executives, staff, and board members from across the country to explore the latest industry challenges and innovations. Attendees engage in dynamic general sessions, educational breakout discussions, and networking opportunities while gaining firsthand exposure to cutting-edge technologies. Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to this important conversation about the future of electric cooperatives. Looking forward to the next PowerXchange in 2026! Read more: https://lnkd.in/emdYy952 Photos: provided by NRECA #PowerXchange #NRECA #ElectricCooperatives #EnergyInnovation #LargeLoads

In honor of Renewable Energy Day tomorrow, there’s no better time to talk about how Central has expanded renewable energy options for its members. These initiatives work to support industrial and commercial, as well as, residential member-owners across South Carolina. Here’s a closer look at some of our key projects: ? Central has executed a power purchase agreement with a solar developer for a project at Volvo’s manufacturing site in Berkeley County, helping Volvo Group meet its carbon-free energy targets. This installation, which has been operational since March 2020, has a capacity of 6.5MW AC. ? In Horry County, Central supports educational institutions by purchasing half of the generated energy for St. James Intermediate and Socastee Elementary while the schools use the rest to offset their energy needs, selling the rest back to Horry Electric Cooperative, Inc. for net metering credits. This arrangement helps to reduce the schools’ monthly electricity bills while promoting renewable energy education. ? Central's board has authorized up to 5MW AC of community solar, which is accessible to all of our member cooperatives. Initiated in 2016, these projects include a mix of ground-mount and canopy configurations. This model is especially beneficial for renters and mobile homeowners. To date, 17 of our member cooperatives participate, with the projects generating 42GWh of energy, equivalent to the annual consumption of 36,500 homes. ? In an innovative pilot project, Berkeley Electric Cooperative, Inc., in partnership with Central, installed a Tesla lithium-ion battery system at its community solar site. The battery has been operational since 2023 and has a maximum discharge rate of 116kW AC and a total energy rating of 464kWh.This project serves as a model for future solar and battery installations, enhancing the cooperative's ability to manage energy demands efficiently. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eTmmSB5m #RenewableEnergyDay

Central Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. and our member cooperatives are proud to power more than one-third of South Carolina’s population! Across all 46 counties, we manage the transmission and distribution infrastructure that keeps the lights on for the families in our communities. ?? Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gmrPBrZn #TriviaTuesday #ElectricCooperatives #SouthCarolina

My favorite part of my job is learning from my communicator friends at other SC cooperatives. The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc. did a fantastic job of facilitating our Communicators’ Summit in Greenville last week. This group provides me with so much insight, expertise, and creative ideas.

We are proud to shine a light on Central board member, James "Jim" Lovinggood, President and CEO of Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative. With 43 years of experience in utility, Jim continues to lead with a commitment to growth, innovation and service excellence. Beyond his responsibilities at Blue Ridge, Jim is an active and engaged leader in the community and the energy industry. He serves on several key boards, including Anderson University Board of Visitors, Cooperative Electric Energy Utility Supply, Inc., The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc., New Horizon Electric Cooperative and TRI-COUNTY TECHNICAL COLLEGE FOUNDATION INC. Thank you, Jim, for your leadership in ensuring safe, reliable electricity and fostering economic development across South Carolina’s Upstate region. ?? Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, founded in 1940 with just 1,680 consumer-members, has grown into a vital utility, serving more than 73,000 members across Anderson, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens and Spartanburg counties. Blue Ridge’s commitment to reliable service, community engagement and member-driven operations is at the core of its mission. #ElectricCooperatives #SouthCarolina #EnergySector

Central President & CEO Rob Hochstetler sat down with Angela Barrett on the Talking South Carolina Podcast to talk all things energy in South Carolina. From keeping electricity reliable and affordable to driving economic growth, Rob shares how Central is working to power stronger communities across the Palmetto State. ?? Listen to the full podcast interview here: https://lnkd.in/e66uH_tt #TalkingSouthCarolina #EnergyForSC #PoweringCommunities #ElectricCooperatives

Happy National Employee Appreciation Day to our incredible team at Central! Thank you for helping us provide power and transmission solutions to our 19 electric distribution cooperatives across South Carolina. We couldn’t do what we do without your hard work, dedication, and expertise! ??

At Central, we're proud to support South Carolina's 19 electric cooperatives by introducing a new crypto peak rate to control demand. By lowering peak demand, we ensure reliability and affordability for all our co-op's consumer-members. This pass-through wholesale rate is intended to incentivize crypto-miners to lower demand during peak load periods. "We've developed a rate for crypto loads, a highly dynamic speculative load rate," said Cole Price, Executive Vice President for Member Services at Central. "The rate has shifted crypto-mining operations away from peak, benefiting the G&T and its members while saving the crypto-operations money."

Last week, Central's Director of Member Programs Scott Hammond joined the G&T Perspectives Panel on Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) at the NRECA Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Member Advisory Group (MAG) Winter Meeting in Tucson, Arizona. Alongside cooperative leaders, Erik Hall, Tyler Pearce and Ryan Henderson, Scott shared how Central leverages DER through its Demand Side Tools platform to enhance grid reliability, optimize energy resources and support cooperative members with innovative energy solutions. North Carolina's Electric Cooperatives Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. (AEPCO) Hoosier Energy