South Carolina produces electricity from nuclear reactors, gas turbines, hydroelectric dams, landfill gas engines, biomass boilers and a growing number of solar farms. Our directory lists 168 of these sites, from the lakes of Oconee County in the northwest to Georgetown on the coast. Most are not public offices with a front desk. They are industrial sites run by utilities or manufacturers, so knowing who operates a plant matters more than knowing its street address. This page explains how the system is organised and how to use a listing to reach the right people.

Who Owns and Runs Power Plants Across South Carolina

Plants in the state fall into four ownership groups, and the group tells you who to contact. Investor-owned utilities are the largest. Duke Energy serves much of the Upstate and the Pee Dee. Dominion Energy South Carolina serves the Midlands and parts of the Lowcountry, and it has long operated stations around Columbia.

Santee Cooper, formally the South Carolina Public Service Authority, is the second group. The state created it in 1934, and its headquarters is in Moncks Corner in Berkeley County. It supplies power to electric cooperatives and other customers, and its own board of directors sets its rates.

Cooperatives and small-town systems make up the third group. They often buy power wholesale, so their own plants tend to be standby or peaking units. A diesel station like City West Diesel Plant on Times Boulevard in Union is the kind of small unit that fits this pattern, though you should confirm the operator before assuming.

Industry and campuses are the fourth group. Domtar Paper Power Plant in Bennettsville, Du Pont Camden Power Plant in Lugoff, Webb Forging in Carlisle and Bob Jones University Power Plant in Greenville generate power for their own sites. These are private facilities with no public counter. The best contact is the company's main office or facilities department.

Some listings are plainly utility-scale. Keowee Power Plant at 7800 Rochester Highway in Seneca belongs to the hydroelectric system on Lake Keowee. Duke Energy Lee Steam Station sits at Belton in the Upstate. Both are operated by a large utility, so questions go to the utility, not the plant gate.

Which South Carolina Agencies Oversee Power Plants

No single state office handles everything. Responsibility is split by the kind of question you have, and these are the bodies that matter most:

Public attention to plant oversight grew in 2017, when the owners of the unfinished V.C. Summer Units 2 and 3 in Fairfield County abandoned the project. Unit 1 still operates. The Parr Gt listing, on Parr Road off Highway 213 in Jenkinsville, is in the same corner of the state. Planning and ratepayer rules for utilities were tightened after that episode.

Solar growth followed state laws passed in 2014 and 2019, including Act 62, known as the Energy Freedom Act. Those laws shaped how rooftop and farm-scale solar connect to the grid.

Upstate, Midlands, Pee Dee and Lowcountry: How the Map Differs

The Upstate: hydro, steam and the highest counts

The Upstate holds the densest cluster of listings. Anderson County leads with 13, including Duke Energy Lee Steam Station in Belton, Hollidays Bridge Hydro in Honea Path and Pelzer Lower on Dunlap Road in Anderson. Greenville County has 10, from the Bob Jones University plant on Wade Hampton Boulevard to Enoree Phase II Landfill Gas Recovery in Greer. Oconee County adds the mountain-fed lakes and reactors around Seneca. Cherokee County has Mill Creek in Blacksburg on Elm Road.

The Midlands: stations, solar and a federal site

Lexington County has McMeekin on Bush River Road, listed with a Columbia address and the phone number 803-217-9501, and Swamp Fox Solar in Pelion. Farther out, Savannah River Site Biomass Cogen on Laurens Street Southwest in Aiken serves a large federal complex. North Road Peak in Orangeburg and Cameron Solar in Calhoun County show how newer, smaller units are scattered across rural land.

The Pee Dee and Lowcountry: solar and landfill gas

Darlington County is home to 1634 Solar in Hartsville and sits near the H.B. Robinson nuclear plant. Florence has South Solar on Pamplico Highway. Along the coast and the Savannah River side, Georgetown Lfgte on Landfill Drive, Hampton Solar 2 on Augusta Highway and Sce&G Nimitz Csg in Ridgeland round out the picture.

The metro-versus-rural split is simple. Cities and large campuses host landfill gas and on-site plants. Rural counties host solar farms and peaking units, because land is cheaper and transmission lines are close.

Reading a South Carolina Power Plant Listing

Many listing names are shorthand from federal and utility records. "Gt" usually points to a gas turbine, "Lfgte" to landfill gas-to-energy, and "Peak" to a peaking plant that runs when demand is high. Older names such as Sce&G persist even though the utility now operates as Dominion Energy South Carolina, so do not treat an old name as a sign the listing is wrong.

Only a few listings carry phone numbers. Lee County Landfill at 1431 Sumter Highway in Bishopville lists 803-428-2400, and McMeekin lists 803-217-9501. For the rest, follow these steps:

First, identify the operator from the name or the utility that serves that county. Second, call the operator's main customer line, not the plant road. Third, ask for community relations if you want a tour, a speaker or a records request. Fourth, report a power outage to your own utility. Fifth, take billing or service disputes to the Office of Regulatory Staff. Finally, call 811 before any digging near a plant road, easement or transmission corridor.

Power plant facilities in South Carolina include a mix of federal, state, and municipally owned generation assets that contribute to the region's overall electricity supply. South Carolina's energy mix and the number of publicly owned facilities reflect the state's natural resources, regulatory environment, and historical development of its utility infrastructure.

Power Plant locations are available in 86 cities across South Carolina. They are spread across 39 counties.

Areas with the highest concentration of power plant locations include Georgetown, Orangeburg, Hartsville, often reflecting proximity to water resources, fuel supply infrastructure, or industrial demand centers.

Residents of South Carolina who are customers of a municipal or public power utility can contact their local power authority for billing assistance, energy efficiency programs, and information about planned outages or infrastructure upgrades in their service area.

Power Plant by Counties

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Residents of South Carolina who receive electricity service from a publicly owned utility can visit or contact that utility's customer service office to learn about outage reporting, billing options, and energy assistance programs. For information about a specific power generation facility in South Carolina, contacting the state's public utility commission is often the best starting point.

Browse Power Plant by county across South Carolina to find the nearest location.

Contacting a South Carolina Plant Operator: What to Have Ready

Many South Carolina plants sit on rural roads with no street number you can rely on. Parr Gt, off Highway 213 in Jenkinsville, is in Fairfield County. Cedar Creek in Great Falls is in Lancaster County. Sce&G Springfield Csg on Springfield Road in Blackville is in Barnwell County. Webb Forging in Carlisle is in Union County. Use the county together with the listed address when you call, so the operator can place the site quickly.

Before you call, have four things ready: the plant name exactly as listed, the county, what you need, and the date it concerns. Call during weekday business hours. Hurricane season, which runs from June to November, and the summer demand peak are busy times for utilities, so expect slower replies then.

Remember that a listing is a starting point. Plants change owners, close or convert fuels. Treat the operator's own confirmation as final, and do not enter a plant site or its fenced switchyards without permission. Lake access areas near hydro projects are the exception, since those are public and signed.

South Carolina Power Plant Questions

Several bodies share the job. The Public Service Commission of South Carolina sets rates and rules for investor-owned utilities such as Duke Energy and Dominion Energy South Carolina. The Office of Regulatory Staff represents the public interest in those cases and handles consumer complaints. The South Carolina Department of Environmental Services issues air, water and landfill permits. Nuclear stations answer to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and most large hydroelectric projects answer to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Santee Cooper, the state-owned utility, is governed by its own board of directors and sets its own rates rather than going through the Public Service Commission.

Usually not without arrangement. Most plants are secured industrial sites, and nuclear stations such as Oconee Nuclear Station near Seneca and V.C. Summer in Jenkinsville restrict access tightly. Campus and manufacturer plants, like Bob Jones University Power Plant in Greenville or Domtar Paper Power Plant in Bennettsville, are private property. Hydro projects are friendlier, because lakes such as Lake Keowee have public boat ramps and recreation areas. If you want a group tour or a school visit, contact the operator's community relations office several weeks ahead and ask what identification they require.

Match the problem to the right office. A power outage goes to your own electric provider, which may be Duke Energy, Dominion Energy South Carolina, a cooperative or a city system, and it is not the plant listed nearby. Fire, downed lines or immediate danger call for 911. Smoke, odours, spills or noise concerns can go to the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services. Billing and service disputes that your utility will not resolve can go to the Office of Regulatory Staff. Always call 811 before digging near plant roads or power corridors.

Anderson County has 13 listings, Greenville County 10, Lexington County 9, and Darlington and Oconee counties 8 each. Spartanburg and Florence counties have 7 apiece. The Upstate counts reflect a mix of large utility stations, hydro sites and industrial generators in a populous region. Lexington and Florence counties owe part of their totals to newer solar farms. Counts include small generators such as landfill gas and solar sites, so a high number does not mean a county has more large stations. County pages let you narrow the list to your area.

Solar listings include 1634 Solar on East Carolina Avenue in Hartsville, South Solar on Pamplico Highway in Florence, Hampton Solar 2 on Augusta Highway in Hampton, Swamp Fox Solar on Old Charleston Road in Pelion and Cameron Solar on Cameron Road in Cameron. Most sit on open rural land near transmission lines. State laws passed in 2014 and 2019, including Act 62, helped shape how solar connects to the grid. Solar farms are usually unstaffed, so contact the owner or the local utility instead of visiting. Public ownership details may not appear in the listing.

Landfills produce methane as waste breaks down. Some operators capture it and burn it in engines or turbines to make electricity. Listings in this category include Georgetown Lfgte at 201 Landfill Drive in Georgetown, Enoree Phase II Landfill Gas Recovery on Anderson Ridge Road in Greer and Lee County Landfill at 1431 Sumter Highway in Bishopville, which lists 803-428-2400. Because these sites sit on working landfills, questions about waste drop-off belong with the county or landfill operator. Air permits for the equipment come through the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services.