Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative members have paid nothing like SC Electric & Gas ratepayers.

But they and members of the state’s other electric cooperatives have paid higher rates due to Santee Cooper’s shared $9 billion nuclear failure with SCE&G.

“We are going to do everything we can to protect our members from higher rates,” Mid-Carolina’s Bob Pauling told the Chronicle.

The Lexington-based coop buys some but not all of its electricity from taxpayer-owned Santee Cooper.

Pauling said he felt Mid-Carolina was blamed in the Chronicle and other media for Santee Cooper’s failures.

When asked what inaccuracies had appeared in the Chronicle’s reporting, Pauling gave no answer.

When we offered to run a correction on any factual errors, he said only that he and his staff were committed to protecting their members.

Pauling will be the guest speaker at the May 14 Lexington Chamber of Commerce breakfast at Radius Church on Main Street.

Electric cooperative members are concerned about what may happen to their rates if the state sells Santee Cooper to an investor-owned utility such as Dominion Energy which just bought SCE&G’s owners SCANA.

The Friends of Santee Cooper say they believe a sale would raise rates.

A company is not going to invest $7.2 billion without a way to get their money in return, the group says.

Santee Cooper claims it offers the lowest typical 1,000-kWh a month residential bill among major utilities in the state.

According to the Office of Regulatory Staff, the monthly residential bills for 1,000 kWh for other suppliers:

• Duke Energy Carolinas charges $117.74

• Duke Energy Progress charges $125.43

• Dominion/SCE&G charges $124.91

Santee Cooper plans to raise rates again in 2021.

Sources have predicted it could be as much as 13%.

Editor’s note: We will report on the Santee Cooper Town Hall at 5:30 pm Wednesday at the Lexington Library. The event was after press time.