
Edisto Electric Cooperative, Inc., Your Touchstone Energy Cooperative®, is a member-owned rural electric cooperative headquartered in Bamberg, South Carolina.
Let Your Cooperative help you make an informed decision about solar energy. As Your Trusted Energy Experts, we will walk you through the process and help you understand the economics. Have peace of mind and allow YOUR cooperative to help you make decisions about your solar energy needs.
SOLAR STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE PRIOR TO INSTALLATION
We recommend that the Member neither install a solar system, nor enter into any associated financial obligations, until after the Cooperative has evaluated and approved the proposed system.
The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs announced new regulations on the marketing and sale of renewable energy. Solar companies are now required to meet the following guidelines to help consumers make informed decisions:
Solar Rates
Edisto’s Value of Solar is $0.0328/kWh. Members will receive a credit on their bill each month for excess energy that is “reversed” through the revenue meter.
Solar Application Fees
Residential fee: $150.00
Non-Residential fee: $250.00
Note: In the memo area of the check, please include the address of the member applying for interconnection. (example: 123 Solar Dr. Bamberg, SC 29003)
***Commercial Applications or systems above 20kW may have a longer study period or more steps involved before approval and installation.
Mail-in application fees:
USPS Mail
Edisto Electric Cooperative
P.O. Box 547
Bamberg, South Carolina 29003
ATTN: Solar Interconnection
FedEx or UPS
Edisto Electric Cooperative
896 Calhoun Street
Bamberg, South Carolina 29003
ATTN: Solar Interconnection
What documentation needs to be provided with the Interconnection Application?
Never. The PV system must be on the load side of the member’s existing revenue meter.
Line-side taps are allowed, but they shall not be installed in the meter base. We would prefer that you connect the PV system behind a breaker in the member’s breaker panel when possible.
No. The existing meter is a bidirectional meter. We will change the billing rate after installation and all approvals.
The only label that is specifically referenced in Edisto’s Interconnection Agreement is the Emergency Disconnect Switch. The EDS must be labeled accordingly. Most solar companies place stickers or markers on the meter base.
The average homeowner that installs solar reduced their 12-month average bill by 20% to 40%. This is a wide range and it depends greatly on when the homeowner uses electricity, the size of the system, whether they installed batteries, etc. The important thing to note is that you will still have a bill from Edisto Electric each month.
Solar panels alone will not provide electricity to your home if Edisto Electric is experiencing an outage in your area. The inverter needs to be connected to a power source to operate. There are systems in which a homeowner can install batteries and power certain loads in the home during an outage though. Batteries usually will not run large loads such as HVAC units, stoves, water heaters, etc. though.
Most battery applications are not designed to run an entire home as you normally would. Batteries installed in conjunction with solar panels should be viewed as backup power for essential loads such as refrigerators, freezers, lights, etc. Batteries may be able to power larger loads such as a water pump/well, but this should be looked on a case by case basis.
These are websites that we recommend:
Edisto Electric Cooperative, Inc., Your Touchstone Energy Cooperative®, is a member-owned rural electric cooperative headquartered in Bamberg, South Carolina.