Florence, SC – October 26, 2021 – Pee Dee Electric Cooperative, Inc. (PDEC) held its annual meeting on Saturday, October 23. The event, with COVID-19 precautions in place, featured live music, prize drawings including a choice between Honda Side-by-Sides or $10,000 cash, and an annual business session. During this once-a-year gathering, the member-owners of the electric co-op voted to receive a 10% rate decrease for the months of December 2021, January, and February 2022. This reduction will be applied automatically, and members will see it as a line item on their monthly bills.

“We know that the winter months are a time when our members use the most energy and see their highest bills,” stated James Goodson, Chairman of the PDEC Board of Trustees. “We are so pleased to be able to show our appreciation by offering this significant rate decrease for that period.”

Established in 1939, PDEC entered into a partnership with Marlboro Electric Cooperative (MEC) in September 2020. Known collectively as MPD, this strategic collaboration aligned the two neighboring co-ops with the goal of creating economic benefits, long-term efficiencies and overall improved service for members residing in Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Lee, Marion and Marlboro counties. MEC is the lowest cost electric power provider in South Carolina according to the Federal Energy Information Administration (EIA), and this significant decrease is a major step towards aligning the two organizations’ electric rates.

“We’re so proud to have been able to provide our members with a 5% rate decrease last winter, as well as the much larger 10% discount this past summer,” said William Fleming, Jr., MPD’s President and CEO. “The ability to offer an additional 10% rate decrease during the coldest and highest use months of the year demonstrates the benefits of the strategic alliance between the two co-ops. The ability to effectively perform as one of the largest electric cooperatives within the State and country provides each co-op the opportunity to regularly decrease rates and continue to improve member reliability across the entire region.”