The Tri-County Electric Cooperative scandal may lead to reforms.

State Rep. Russell Ott, D-Calhoun, has filed a bill to require more openness in how electric cooperative boards are elected and pay themselves.

Tri-County serves southern Lexington County. Ott represents that area and other Tri-County members.

Tri-County faces 2 lawsuits and members who want to fire its board since The State newspaper reported in May about its high board pay and benefits.

Similar questions about pay, benefits and board practices plague other S.C.co-ops, a monthlong investigation by The State found.

Unwatched by regulators and ignored by many members, the state’s 20 co-ops serve 1.5 million residents.

The newspaper’s investigation found that:

• Some co-op board members are paid almost double national averages.

• All 20 co-ops offer health insurance to board members, 17 cover former board members and 16 cover board member families.

A prominent co-op attorney has warned that paying health insurance benefits to former trustees is not legal.

• Co-ops spent an average $120,000 last year to send boards to educational conferences across the country.

• Many gave board members retirement plans with money that could have been returned to members.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out there’s a reason why it’s the same people who don’t ever want to give up the seats,” Ott said of co-op boards.

“Any rational person that looks at the situation and looks at everything that’s come out, they understand that it’s been a really good deal for the board members.

“We just need to get back to where customers are actively involved at their coops, where they have all the information available to them to know what their board members ... are doing on decisions that ultimately impact their bills.”

Co-op executives told The State their boards never unduly influence nominating committees to weed out potential challengers. But some acknowledged board nominating processes have the potential for abuse.

A handful of co-ops including Lexington-based Mid-Carolina Electric have made changes to restrict board members’ influence over nominating committees or eliminated the committees entirely.

“The candidate that goes on the ballot ... should not be influenced at all by the current sitting board, in our opinion,” Mid-Carolina CEO Bob Paulling said.