According to a study by Palmetto Promise, South Carolina’s energy system faces growing challenges, including high electricity costs and increasing demand that strain the current infrastructure. Establishing a regional wholesale energy market is a practical solution to address these issues—fostering competition among energy providers, driving down generation and transmission costs, and improving reliability. These wholesale energy markets are being used in about two-thirds of the country.
For South Carolina ratepayers, this would mean future cost savings, better service quality, and a modernized energy grid. By adopting these reforms, the state can not only reduce financial burdens on its residents but also position itself as a leader in sustainable, reliable energy solutions that attract business growth and create new jobs.
A More Efficient and Reliable Energy Future
Regional Wholesale Energy Markets
Regional wholesale energy markets are systems that allow utilities to trade electricity across a large geographic area, ensuring power is generated and delivered at the lowest possible cost.
These markets are centrally managed, promoting transparency, competition, and resource sharing among utilities. By coordinating power generation and distribution, they improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance grid reliability.
South Carolina Can Lead the Way to a Reliable Energy Future
The Southeast currently lacks these markets, meaning utilities such as Dominion, Duke Energy, and Santee Cooper operate as monopolies, which often leads to higher costs and less efficient energy use.
Establishing a regional wholesale energy market in the Southeast would allow states like South Carolina to take the lead in modernizing the energy grid, saving ratepayers money, attracting new businesses, and ensuring a more efficient, reliable power system for everyone.
South Carolina has a unique opportunity to spearhead this transformation, setting an example for the region and securing long-term benefits for the state’s ratepayers and the long-term energy reliability of the state’s economy.
A Million New Jobs in the Energy Sector by 2040
Establishing a regional wholesale energy market in the Southeast could also create approximately 1 million new jobs in the energy sector by 2040 through:
These developments would not only enhance the region’s energy efficiency and reduce emissions but also significantly boost employment opportunities.