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TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR THE HORRY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE FOR ITS ENORMOUSLY BENEFICIAL IMPACT AND TO CONGRATULATE THE ORGANIZATION ON ITS SEVENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF PROVIDING ELECTRICAL SERVICE IN THE PALMETTO STATE.
Whereas, the South Carolina General Assembly is pleased to learn that the Horry Electric Cooperative recently marked seventy-five years of providing electrical service in South Carolina; and
Whereas, in the early 1930s existing power companies declined to provide electrical service to rural Horry County and much of rural South Carolina, having found the prospect of extending power lines to those areas to be cost-prohibitive, particularly as the nation struggled through the Great Depression; and
Whereas, the outlook for securing electrical service to unserved rural areas improved in 1935 when President Franklin Roosevelt issued an executive order to create the Rural Electrification Administration, which provided opportunities for public-private partnerships to supply electric utilities in rural areas of the United States. The Rural Electrification Administration agency continues today as the Rural Utilities Service within the United States Department of Agriculture; and
Whereas, as consumers in the Palmetto State became interested in organizing nonprofit electric cooperatives, Governor Olin Johnston signed the South Carolina Rural Electrification Act in 1939. County agents from the Clemson Extension Service, instrumental in forming most of the cooperatives in the State, educated consumers about the feasibility of forming electric companies through the cooperative system to supply electrical power to their communities. Today, twenty of these nonprofit, consumer-owned electric-distribution systems serve rural and suburban areas of South Carolina; and
Whereas, one of these invaluable systems, Horry Electric Cooperative received its charter on April 24, 1940 and on January 7, 1941, its lines were energized and service to the cooperative's initial 627 members began. Seventy-five years later, Horry Electric Cooperative serves 73,585 customers spanning over five thousand miles of line; and
Whereas, although the core mission of Horry Electrical Cooperative is to provide reliable, affordable electric service to its membership, it also has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to its community by offering programs like Operation Round Up, which gives members the option of having their monthly bills rounded up to the nearest dollar, with the difference being given to local charities to help local citizens meet food, shelter, clothing, and healthcare expenses. The success of Operation Round Up has enabled the cooperative to donate more than $140,000 to charities each year, when its full membership participates; and
Whereas, the South Carolina General Assembly appreciates the three quarters of a century that Horry Electric Cooperative has provided electricity, productivity, and opportunity to the citizens of South Carolina, and the members look forward to its continued prosperity and growth in the days ahead. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, recognize and honor the Horry Electric Cooperative for its enormously beneficial impact and to congratulate the organization on its seventy-fifth anniversary of providing electrical service in the Palmetto State.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be provided to Horry Electric Cooperative.
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