Your Co-op News
Holiday Closings
- Friday, January 1
- Monday, January 18
- Friday, April 2
- Monday, May 31
- Monday, July 5
- Monday, September 6
- Thursday, November 25
- Friday, November 26
- Friday, December 24
- Monday, December 27
Co-op paid over $800,000 in taxes
Marlboro Electric Cooperative paid $619,768.74 in taxes to Marlboro County and paid $200,947.94 in taxes to Dillon County in 2009. The co-op serves over 6,500 consumers in the two counties.
"We aren’t just an electric company, we're a local business," said Bill Fleming, President and CEO of Marlboro Electric. "Like all individuals and businesses, Marlboro Electric Cooperative pays taxes annually."
According to Fleming, the tax payments represent one of the ways that Marlboro Electric Cooperative provides support to the community. "School systems, law enforcement, road construction, maintenance, and so many other services are underwritten locally by tax dollars. Since our own customers, as well as the public at large, depend on these services, Marlboro Electric Cooperative plays a significant role in funding them," said Fleming.
Electric co-ops in South Carolina pay tens of millions of dollars in taxes each year to federal, state, county and municipal governments.
Meter conversions progress around system
Marlboro Electric Cooperative continues to convert its meters to automated meter-reading (AMR) technology and will continue throughout 2010. Members will see Davey Resource Group (DRG), the contract utility that is replacing meters and handling the conversions.
Meters will be able to send readings from a member’s home or business back to the co-op over its power lines giving the co-op measurements of the members’ electricity usage. The AMI system benefits the co-op and members’ bills will not increase due to this update in technology.
Local WIRE chapter to meet
Please join us at the next WIRE meeting on Monday, March 8 at 6:00 p.m. in Marlboro Electric’s Assembly Room. Other meetings will be on April 5, May 3, October 4, November 1, and December (TBA).
The meeting is open to all women who are co-op members, trustees and employees or the spouses of members, trustees and employees. Women Involved in Rural Electrification (WIRE) is a community outreach group and a statewide organization.
Co-op aids Dillon County Mega Industrial Site
Certification will help project attract large industry, jobs
Marlboro Electric Cooperative and the S.C. Power Team will help attract industry and jobs with grant funding for site certification of the Dillon County Mega Industrial Site.
Dillon County Council in November unanimously accepted a grant from the cooperative and the S.C. Power Team to pay for studies to certify the 2,000-acre site, located on Interstate 95. The Power Team is a statewide economic development agency of the state’s independent, consumer-owned electric co-ops and their chief power supplier, the state-owned utility Santee Cooper.
Marlboro Electric’s President and CEO Bill Fleming said, “We are thankful to Dillon County Council for coming together as a team with a unanimous decision to improve economic development. We appreciate their dedication to future growth of the Mega Industrial Site. Marlboro Electric and the S.C. Power Team look forward to investing resources into the site certification project to establish an industrial site with integrity.”
Certification proves that a site can accommodate industries with large operations, Fleming said. The process involves evaluation to prove the site meets requirements for proper zoning, rights of way, mapping, surveying, water systems, transportation access, environmental audits, electric infrastructure, telecommunications and engineering.
“With a certified industrial site, Dillon County will be able to market to worldwide companies and bring in major employers to the area,” said Fleming. “The uniqueness of this project is that Dillon County has favorable demographics because it will be the only certified industrial megasite in South Carolina with rail accessibility.”
The Industrial Mega Site surrounds the I-95 Gateway Industrial Park, where Marlboro Electric Cooperative serves Harbor Freight, a major area employer. Fleming said, “The site offers tremendous potential to attract major manufacturing, auto makers, large distribution centers and other large operations.”
Cooperatives like Marlboro Electric promote economic development in order to attract industries to their service areas, which creates jobs for their members and other local residents, Fleming said. Large industries also help the co-op hold down rates for residential members because they purchase significant amounts of power, he noted.