Santee Cooper reaches half-million milestone in CFL giveaway

Santee Cooper has given away more than half a million compact fluorescent light bulbs to its residential customers since launching the ongoing Switch and Save promotion on Earth Day 2008.

“Between April 22 and July 11, we’ve given away 541,080 CFLs to 45,090 customers,” says Marc Tye, vice president of conservation and renewable energy. “That’s an average of more than 9,400 bulbs to 791 customers a day, which is outstanding.”

Compact fluorescent bulbs are an efficient alternative to the more common incandescent bulb because they use about 75 percent less energy and give off 75 percent less heat while maintaining their light output for a minimum of 6,000 hours. CFLs typically cost more than incandescents, but consumers can ultimately expect to save about $30 or more in energy costs over the life of each CFL, according to the EPA.

Santee Cooper residential customers who have not yet taken advantage of the Switch and Save campaign can stop by any customer service location through the end of July with a picture ID to receive their 12 free bulbs.

“So far our Myrtle Beach location has been the busiest, having given 143,532 bulbs to 11,961 customers,” Tye says. “We’ve been extremely grateful for the efforts of our customer services representatives at each of our eight locations.”

Through July 11, Tye says Santee Cooper’s Garden City/Murrells Inlet customer service center has given 130,968 bulbs to 10,914 customers, making them the second-busiest location. Meanwhile, the North Myrtle Beach office has given 104,304 bulbs to 8,692 customers; the Conway branch has given 74,172 bulbs to 6181 customers; the Pawleys Island location has given 44,220 bulbs to 3,685 customers; the Moncks Corner division has given 28,548 bulbs to 2,379 customers; and the Loris office has given 15,336 bulbs to 1,278 customers.

Ultimately, Santee Cooper hopes to give away 1.6 million CFLs by the conclusion of its Switch and Save promotion. Residential customers should call their local customer service office for more information.

Santee Cooper is South Carolina's state-owned electric and water utility and the state's largest pwer producer, supplying electricity to more than 162,000 retail customers in Berkeley, Georgetown and Horry counties, as well as to 29 large industrial facilities, the cities of Bamberg and Georgetown, and the Charleston Air Force Base. Santee Cooper also generates the power distributed by the state's 20 electric cooperatives to more than 685,000 customers in all 46 counties. Approximately 2 million South Carolinians receive their power directly or indirectly from Santee Cooper. The utility also provides water to 137,000 consumers in Berkeley and Dorchester counties, and the town of Santee. Visit us online at www.SanteeCooper.com. For information on how Santee Cooper lives green and how you can go green, visit Santee Cooper's Green site.