South Carolina General Assembly
121st Session, 2015-2016
H. 3855
STATUS INFORMATION
Concurrent Resolution
Sponsors: Reps. V.S.Moss, D.C.Moss, Allison, Tallon, Anthony, Chumley, Hicks, Mitchell, Cole and Forrester
Document Path: l:\council\bills\rm\1181cz15.docx
Introduced in the House on March 18, 2015
Introduced in the Senate on March 18, 2015
Adopted by the General Assembly on March 18, 2015
Summary: Broad River Electric Cooperative
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
DateBodyAction Description with journal page number
3/18/2015HouseIntroduced, adopted, sent to Senate (House Journalpage38)
3/18/2015SenateIntroduced, adopted, returned with concurrence (Senate Journalpage8)
View the latest legislative information at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
3/18/2015
ACONCURRENT RESOLUTION
TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR THE SIGNIFICANT SERVICE OF BROAD RIVER ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE OF GAFFNEY AND TO CONGRATULATE THE ORGANIZATION ON ITS SEVENTYFIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF PROVIDING ELECTRICITY IN THE PALMETTO STATE.
Whereas, for seventyfiveyears, Broad River Electric Cooperative has served its membership with excellence. One of twenty nonprofit consumerowned electricdistribution systemsserving the rural and suburban areas of South Carolina,Broad River Electric Cooperative was organized by peoplein Cherokee County, Union County, and Spartanburg County after many years of attemptingto get other power suppliersto provide electric service for their sparselypopulatedrural areas; and
Whereas,in the early 1930s,electricity in South Carolinawas confined to towns and cities where power suppliers could sell current to large groups of customersover small areas of land. It costs much more to serve rural areas because it takes more miles of line to sell power to fewer people. To recover those costs and make a profit, power companies would have to charge rates higher than people could afford; and
Whereas,in 1935, PresidentFranklin D. Rooseveltpassed an executiveorder creating the Rural Electrification Administration, which today,as part of the United States Department of Agriculture,is known as the Rural Utilities Service; and
Whereas, many consumers in the Palmetto State becameinterested in organizing electricsupply systems through nonprofitelectric cooperatives. In 1939, Governor Olin Johnstonsigned the South CarolinaRural Electrification Act. County agents from the Clemson Extension Service, instrumental in forming most of the coopsin the State, explainedthat it was possiblefor consumers to own their own companythroughthe cooperative system; and
Whereas, on June 1, 1940, Broad River Electric Cooperative in Gaffney received its charter and began serving three hundred fifty members over one hundred miles of line. Seventyfive years later, it serves 17,800 accountsand 2,566 miles of line in four South Carolinacounties, Cherokee, Spartanburg, Union, and Newberry; and
Whereas,although the cooperative’s core mission is to provide reliable, affordable electric serviceto its membership, it also has becomean economic engine for development and job creation.By workingwith state and county governments, Broad River Electric has helped attract industrial leaders,such as JervisWebb Forging, Belk Incorporated, Dollar General,Rite Aid, WilburEllis, and Sloan Construction; and
Whereas,Broad River Electric has shown a strong commitment to community through programs like OperationRound Up, which rounds up members’ monthly bills to the nearestdollar for distribution to local charities. Through Operation Round Up, the cooperative donates more than ninety thousand dollars to charitieseach year. Broad River Electricalso providessupport for local schools,fire departments, law enforcement, veterans, and senior citizens;and
Whereas,the South CarolinaGeneral Assembly appreciates the threequarters of a century that Broad RiverElectric Cooperative has provided electricity, productivity, and opportunity to the citizensof South Carolina,and the memberslook forward to its continuedprosperityand growth in the days ahead.Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
Thatthe members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, recognize and honor the significant service of Broad River Electric Cooperative of Gaffney and congratulate the organization on its seventyfifth anniversary of providing electricity in the Palmetto State.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be provided to Broad River Electric Cooperative.
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