The Island Packet from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina • 17

THE ISLAND RACKCTJL hi Business November 1 1985 SECTION Power prices governed by many iactors NANCY RUTTER 'TOCfcet butfcWM writer MONCKS CORNER Tucked 5' way in a wooded area off US 17 A i Moncks Corner stands a tall high tech looking silvery building home to Santee Cooper the SC public Service Authority Inside the impressive headquar tiers of the 51 year old power gener ating company the surroundings are plush and classy There are thick carpets lush green plants soft over stuffed sofas and the latest incomputer equipment i As you enter the building hard resist the temptation to this is where the money I payfor electricity Well in part true A portion jif the money we pay for power goesjib the company Statewide users of Santee Cooper power have made itJhe fourth largest of 3200 public uti Jkties across the nation It is also one of the top 10 revenue producing public utilities in the na ion During the last fiscal year San 0ee Cooper took in some $473 million These facts have given Santee Cooper a sort of Big Brother image over the years Power is delivered to our homes through Hilton Electric Cooperative Inc ibut Santee Cooper we blameiwhen the cost of electricity goes through the roof Rate hikes seem even more unfair because Santee Cooper a private utility but a non profit state agency But consider this: Santee Cooper receive tax money The pow er company by law has to give mo ney every year to the general fund Last year that sum was $17 million because Santee Cooper has a somewhat odd relationship to the state government According to Wil liam Mescher president and chief executive of the company when Santee Cooper was set up in 1934 the state wanted a limited role in the op eration of the utility people who had the dream to create Santee Cooper went to the state and the state said 'Okay set it up but we want anything to do with Mescher said funds to build the first gener ating plant came from the federal government not the he said $30 (million) and $40 mil lion of federal grant money was spent to build the plant (Jefferies hy dro electric generating station) and create the lakes (Lake Marian and Lake Moultrie) But that same year the entire state budget was only about $6 The state assumed two governing positions in relation to the Santee Cooper's energy control center at Moncks Corner CS" zz I operations irst Santee Cooper must report each year to a state ad visory board including the governor attorney general secretary of state and others In addition the governor is re sponsible for appointing the compa board of directors for seven year terms to oversee policy and planning But beyond this state in volvement Santee Cooper is on its own operating like an independent business That mean however that Santee Cooper have the pub lic in mind according to Mescher The by laws governing op eration of the utility specifically mandate six of those 11 directors come from each congressional dis trict the company serves Three more must come from the counties Santee Cooper directly serves (Hor ry Berkeley and Georgetown) and at least one director must have pre vious experience in the electric co operative business The chairman of the board cur rently Dwight A Holder who lives part time at Sea Pines Plantation is an at large director statewide do have input into what we do through the director from their Mescher said can write and call that board (See ELECTRICITY Page 2 B) Dwight Holder vis president William Mescher and others The reconnaissance mission was an eye opener and served to spur Holder to take his first official step as Santee chairman of the board: He has reorganized the board it self say the board run well under Bob Davis because that be Holder said in an interview there were 14 separate committees the board had to deal with when I came on and that was just to he said was time consuming for board members to have to de cide on motions to paint our trucks a certain Now under Holder's reorganization there are only five committees including a executive according to the Santee Cooper chief The committee heads also have more au thority and responsibility Holder said committee can now okay expenditures up to $500000 before bringing the issue before the board That keeps the board free to tackle is sues other than painting Holder said Those other issues are big ones or starters Holder would like to see the 51 year old power supplier an economic contribution to the state other than generating electricity main objective of course is to gener ate and sell electricity and our customers will remain our first Holder said I think its time we move the agency to a new pla teau to see what we can do improve the lives of South Carolina citizens in other To facilitate that goal Holder is working with Gov Richard Riley and the chairmen of several state agencies The list includes the jobs and economic development agen cies the SC Port Authority the state Depart ment of Parks Recreation and Tourism and SC Agriculture Commissioner Leslie Tin dall am a great believer in working with state agencies as a Holder said (See HOLDER Page 2 B) over July 1 as chairman of the SC Public Service Authority informally called Santee Cooper the state owned electricity generat ing agency that supplies power to island based Palmetto Electric Cooperative Inc But Holder the kind of person to ignore a challenge Since July 1 been busy be coming an expert on running a utility In short he's been doing his homework or example he spent two days at Duke Power Co in North Carolina and visited with Santee coal suppliers in Kentucky He attended a bond issue closing in New York since Santee Cooper raises money through mu nicipal bond issues And he met with officials of SC Electric and Gas Co and Central Electric Cooperative Inc the Columbia based power distribution consor tium of power cooperatives that serves Palm etto Electric In between the chairman delved into the structure and operation of Santee Cooper it self talking with former Chairman Robert Da Islander atop Santee Cooper learns new tricks By NANCY RUTTER Packet butlneu writer Dwight A Holder knows a lot of things He knows about the tourism industry 1 for example as he served for 10 years as first i chairman of the SC Parks Recreation and Tourism Commission He knows about higher education as he was on the board of trustees for North Greenville College and now is a trustee for urman Uni versity in Greenville and Limestone College in Gaffney And he knows about business and economic development since he is a director for Bank ers Trust of South Carolina and Service Cor fioration International He also was chairman df the SC Jobs and Economic Development Authority from 1982 to 1984 But Holder says he doesn't know much about the utility business In fact in a recent inter view he told The Island Packet he claim to be an expert on running a That could be a problem since Holder took SOU Official Guide to Hilton Head Is outlining vacation and meet pice information about the is Cbamber executive William A said 75000 copies of the col 48 pege magazine will be dis at trade and travel snows the nation as well as through SC Department of Parks Rec Maftrwi arvl ciasxs avwwiu wynw aw will be mailed to Chamber mem bers In addition to a map of the island with weather information the guidebook includes a list of accom modations and rates as well as in formation about sports events list ings of 100 restaurants a marina and fishing directory shopping in formation and a special insert high lighting the month long Springest celebration jjNew Chamber magazine just published is ready fl The Hilton Head Island Chamber reation and Tourism Copies also i A Iaav 'A ft rjributed Cable TV costs here highest in county rom Staff Reports Hilton Head and Bluffton residents pay more for cable services than other Beaufort County cable sub scribers more the rates of Bluffton Cablevision Inc and Plan tation Cablevision Inc run some three of four dollars higher than the national average for a basic cable service A recent survey of area cable com panies revealed that Bluffton resi dents pay the most per channel of five Beaufort County cable compa nies about $129 each for basic service of 10 channels Bluffton Ca blevision serves residents for $1295 per month Plantation Cablevision ran second in cost per channel charges in the survey with subscribers receiving 12 basic channels for about $116 per channel or $14 per month On the other hand subscribers to Acton Cable TV which services CABLE TV COSTS PER CHANNEL 150 130 121 1W 90 1 70 gj Mft I 1 1 i li Tl II I III Puns Is Port Royal Beaufort Bay Lady's Is Hartxx Dataw Is Hilton Bluffton USNH Burton MCAS Hunting Hoad ripp Is homes in Port Royal Parris Island Beaufort and Burton receive 19 ba sic channels for between $790 to $1040 per month (based on loca tion) or about 42 cents a channel Nationwide the average rates for a basic cable service run under $10 According to Stephen Effros president of Community Antenna Television Association (CATA) a cable system special interest group based in Washington cable sub scribers across the nation paid an average of $966 for basic cable serv ices in 1984 A spokesman for the Washington based National Cable Television As sociation quoted an even lower 1984 basic cable national average cost of $892 per month Effros added the average cost for basic cable in South Carolina as a whole ran subscribers $972 last year or the entire Southeast region the average basic cable service rate was $928 in '84 The CATA president said there are many reasons why rates may be higher in a coastal area than nation wide "When you are in a beach he told The Packet costs a lot more to protect it from salt water Cable companies 1 ic higher insurance rates tx cau hurricanes And you have a higher deposits on equipment in many cases because in a resort area peo ple come and go and cable firms lose Plantation general manager Charles Renwick told The (See CABLE Page 3 New cable company eyes Hilton Head By NANCY RUTTER Packet bueinaM writer Plantation Cablevision Inc could face competi tion if an alternative cable supplier now eyeing the island decides to petition the Town Council for a franchise Word of new cable company interest in Hilton Head came to The Island Packet through Mark Goldstein president and chairman of American Communications and Television Inc a diversified telecommunications company based in Gaines ville la American Communications is known through its association with WTGS the independent television station broadcasting on channel 28 from Hardee ville American Communications owns 80 percent of shares in the station But the company is also involved in various oth er aspects of telecommunications including sate! lites radio broadcasting and cable Over the past two years American Communica tions has set up 22 cable companies in lorida The firm sold those systems to PL Group Inc the parent corporation of lorida Power and Light Co According to Goldstein American Communica tions has been hired as a consultant to SC Cable vision Associates a concern he said is comprised of corporate SC Cablevision Associates he said is investi gating cable possibilities in the region including Hilton Head and several nearby Georgia commu nities including Springfield and Effingham Conn ty is a national trend toward establishing second cable systems in markets where the first system delivers poor service or charges high Goldstein said in an interview big guys are starting to look into areas where they feel the existing cable franchise is inviting competi Legally a second cable operator could petition the Town of Hilton Head Island for a franchise according to Town Manager Carey Smith Plantation Cablevision has a franchise agree ment with the town which the Beaufort County Council initially approved for the island in 1976 Plantation franchise was trans ferred to the town government in January 1984 af ter municipal incorporation Plantation Cablevision holds its current fran chise agreement until 1991 but it is a non exclu sive contract That means other cable interests are legally able to apply to the town for a similar franchise Smith said a petition to the Town Council for a second cable franchise for Hilton Head uldtu to be followed by public bearings on tin issue said a detailed evaluation would be ci i ''ucted well because someone has an interest in a ca ble franchise here doesn't mean they automatical ly get one" Smith said Town Council would have to determine if it would work in the best in terests of the If the evaluation proved the need for a second cable franchise Smith said the council would to adopt an ordinance to award the new Goldstein said initial steps are needed to secure franchise documents from the tewn including a copy of the Plantation Cablevision contract which is a public record In addition to studying these documents Gold (See RANCHISE Page 3 B) "A.