BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. – Santee Cooper’s Jefferies Hydroelectric Station recently celebrated its 80 years in operation. The station first generated electricity on Feb. 17, 1942 and continues to do so today.
In April 1934, Governor Blackwood signed a bill to create the South Carolina Public Service Authority, known as Santee Cooper, to construct two reservoirs (Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie) and a hydroelectric plant to serve the rural South Carolina population, which in turn would spark prosperity in the Depression-ravaged state.
Construction began in 1939. Just two years later, President Roosevelt named Santee Cooper’s Pinopolis Power Plant, now Jefferies Hydroelectric Station, a national defense project and accelerated its construction as America joined World War II.
When Jefferies began generating electricity in 1942, its first customer was Pittsburgh Metallurgical Co., a defense contractor in North Charleston that made ferrochromium, a key defense metal used to harden steel for ships and tanks. Santee Cooper later served the Charleston Naval Shipyard and the Charleston Naval Base and today still serves, Joint Base Charleston.
“Santee Cooper was started along with a lot of other projects to pick up jobs for this country and, in particular, for South Carolina, to improve the quality of life for the residents overall. That is still the mission today,” said Jody Perry, a 39-year Santee Cooper employee who retired in 2018 as Superintendent of Operations at Jefferies.
Jefferies is named for Richard M. Jefferies, South Carolina governor from March 1942 to January 1943 and Santee Cooper’s General Manager for 21 years.
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