MONCKS CORNER, S.C. — The Santee Cooper Board of Directors has unanimously approved the sale of approximately $460 million in bonds aimed at funding major infrastructure upgrades while refinancing older, higher-cost debt.
The public utility announced the move as part of a broader effort to modernize South Carolina’s power grid and improve long-term reliability while keeping costs manageable for customers.
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A significant portion of the transaction — about $145.4 million — will be used to refinance roughly $166 million in debt issued between 2014 and 2016. Officials say the refinancing will generate about $25 million in gross savings, or approximately $19 million in net present value, for customers through 2038.
“Today’s results are an absolute reflection of the market’s confidence in Santee Cooper and our plan to modernize the generation and transmission grid in South Carolina,” said President and CEO Jimmy Staton. “The outstanding rates achieved will allow us to continue to improve our system to match growing demand and provide reliable service at affordable prices.”
The remaining funds will support capital improvement projects, including upgrades to generation, transmission, and distribution systems, as well as efforts to meet environmental regulations. The package includes $208.6 million in tax-exempt bonds and $106 million in taxable bonds.
Santee Cooper reported strong investor interest in the offering, with total orders exceeding $2.3 billion — making the transaction roughly five times oversubscribed. That demand allowed the utility to reduce interest rates on nearly all of the bonds issued.
The overall borrowing cost for the transaction came in at 4.35%, falling within parameters approved by the South Carolina Joint Bond Review Committee.
“This financing demonstrates continued investor confidence in Santee Cooper,” said Chief Financial Officer Tami Wilson. “The tremendous response by investors has provided clear, very favorable results for our customers.”
Financial officials also highlighted that lower interest rates achieved through the competitive offering are expected to save customers millions over the life of the bonds.
The transaction was led by J.P. Morgan, with BofA Securities and Barclays Capital serving as senior managers. Additional firms, including Goldman Sachs, Truist Securities, TD Financial Products, Wells Fargo Securities, and others, participated as co-managers. PFM served as financial advisor.
Utility leaders say the investment positions Santee Cooper to meet growing energy demands across the state while continuing to balance affordability and reliability for customers.
