Utility and energy bill help in South Carolina
South Carolina's long, humid summers can push air conditioning costs to painful levels, and winter cold snaps bring their own spikes in heating bills. Help is available from both government and utility sources - this page covers all the programs. Government programs include LIHEAP cash grants, crisis assistance for households facing disconnection, and free weatherization, all administered through the South Carolina Office of Economic Opportunity and local community action agencies.
Utility companies run their own funds as well, including Dominion Energy's EnergyShare, Duke Energy's Share the Light Fund, Piedmont Natural Gas's Share the Warmth, Santee Cooper's Community Cares, Orangeburg's Project Good Neighbor, and Operation Round Up trusts at electric cooperatives across the state.
Financial grants are only part of the picture. Nearly every South Carolina utility also offers payment plans, budget or levelized billing, due-date extensions, and in some cases deposit help or medical hardship protections, and those options are open to any customer regardless of income. This guide explains each program, who qualifies, and exactly where to call.
Utility company assistance programs
Aiken Electric Cooperative serves members in Aiken, Barnwell, Calhoun, Edgefield, Greenwood, Lexington, McCormick, Orangeburg, and Saluda counties. Call member services at 803-649-6245 or visit https://aikenco-op.org/. The co-op's Operation Round Up program, funded by members rounding up their bills, is administered by the Aiken Electric Trust and helps families with essential needs such as food, shelter, clothing, health care, and assistance for the elderly. A family application is available on the co-op's Operation Round Up page.
For help with the electric bill itself, ask Aiken member services about payment arrangements or the Advance Pay prepaid option. The co-op's Help My House program offers zero-down, low-interest loans repaid on the bill for energy efficiency repairs that lower usage long term. Income-eligible members can also apply for LIHEAP through their local community action agency.
Dominion Energy South Carolina, formerly South Carolina Electric & Gas, runs the EnergyShare program for its electric and natural gas customers. Call 1-800-251-7234 or visit https://www.dominionenergy.com/south-carolina/paying-my-bill/billing-options. EnergyShare is a year-round crisis fund that provides up to $1,000 toward energy bills for households at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, and applications go through your local community action agency rather than through Dominion directly.
Dominion also offers short-term payment extensions, longer deferred payment plans that spread a past-due balance into equal monthly installments, and budget billing. A medical certificate can delay winter disconnection when a household member's health would be endangered. Income-qualified customers referred by a community action agency can receive a free home energy check-up and efficiency upgrades. Read more in the NHPB guide to Dominion Energy South Carolina assistance programs.
Duke Energy serves South Carolina through two companies: Duke Energy Carolinas in the Upstate, including Greenville, Spartanburg, Greenwood, Lancaster, and York counties, at 800-777-9898, and Duke Energy Progress in the northeastern part of the state, including Darlington, Florence, and Sumter counties, at 800-452-2777. Duke's assistance program is the Share the Light Fund, which provides one-time grants toward past-due balances, deposits, and reconnection charges. Apply online through the Payment Assistance Finder at https://www.duke-energy.com/home/billing/special-assistance/payment-arrangements/payment-assistance-finder/ or through the Salvation Army at 513-762-5636, which returns voicemails within about 72 hours.
Duke customers can also request installment plans, due-date extensions, and budget billing to level out seasonal spikes. Income-qualified households may receive free weatherization improvements such as weatherstripping and HVAC repairs. During the summer, Duke works with local agencies to connect eligible seniors and residents with disabilities to fans or air conditioners. Read more in the NHPB guide to Duke Energy South Carolina programs.
Fairfield Electric Cooperative offers crisis help through Operation Round Up to people who live in its service territory or within five miles of its lines. Call 803-635-4621 in Winnsboro, 803-754-0153 in Blythewood, or toll-free 1-800-628-0336, or visit https://fairfield.coop/. Applications are reviewed at the trust board's next meeting, and approved payments are mailed directly to the supplier or vendor rather than to the applicant.
Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative serves members in Lexington, Richland, Newberry, Saluda, and Aiken counties. Call member services at 803-749-6400 or toll-free 1-888-813-8000, or visit https://www.mcecoop.com/. For members behind on their bill, the co-op offers payment arrangements and a Pay As You Go prepaid option that avoids deposits and late fees, and staff can point members toward LIHEAP through the local community action agency.
- Please note: Mid-Carolina's Operation Round Up fund does not pay electric bills. The co-op states this explicitly. The fund helps members facing catastrophic situations, defined as the death of an immediate family member or a major illness or accident that prevents the applicant or an immediate family member from working. To apply for that catastrophic help, call 803-749-6474.
Orangeburg Department of Public Utilities provides electric, natural gas, water, and wastewater service to the greater Orangeburg area. Call customer service at 803-268-4050 or visit https://www.orbgdpu.com/customer-service/project-good-neighbor. The DPU's Project Good Neighbor fund, built from voluntary donations that customers add to their monthly bills, provides emergency help toward electricity, natural gas, and heating fuels. Applicants are qualified by the Cooperative Church Ministries of Orangeburg at 2570 St. Matthews Road, which can be reached at 803-531-4913. Payment arrangements are available on all DPU services.
Palmetto Electric Cooperative serves southern Beaufort, Hampton, and Jasper counties, including the Hilton Head and Bluffton areas. Call toll-free 1-800-922-5551 or visit https://palmetto.coop/. Palmetto created the original Operation Round Up program in 1989, and the model has since spread to cooperatives nationwide. Proceeds assist needy individuals and organizations within the service area, and the co-op can explain eligibility when you call.
Palmetto members can also enroll in levelized billing to smooth out monthly amounts or switch to Advance Pay, a prepaid plan with no deposit. Payments and account balances are handled around the clock through the PowerTouch line at 1-866-445-5551.
Pee Dee Electric Cooperative, headquartered in Darlington, serves members in Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Lee, and Marion counties. Call 843-665-4070 or visit https://www.mpd.coop/. Member services can set up payment arrangements for a past-due balance and direct income-eligible members to LIHEAP, crisis assistance, and free weatherization through the community action agencies covering the Pee Dee region.
Piedmont Natural Gas, a Duke Energy company, supplies natural gas to roughly 170,000 South Carolina customers in Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville, and Spartanburg counties. Call 800-752-7504 or visit piedmontng.com. Piedmont's Share the Warmth program, running since 2003, provides year-round grants toward home energy bills regardless of the fuel used, including natural gas, electricity, propane, and oil. Apply through the partner agency for your county listed at https://www.piedmontng.com/our-company/about-piedmont/our-community/share-the-warmth in South Carolina the funds are distributed through the Office of Economic Opportunity's agency network.
Piedmont also offers a free Equal Payment Plan that levels your gas bill into the same predictable amount each month, along with payment arrangements that spread a past-due balance over time. Read more in the NHPB guide to Piedmont Natural Gas assistance programs.
Santee Cooper, the state-owned electric utility, serves retail customers directly in Berkeley, Georgetown, and Horry counties. Call customer care at 800-804-7424 or visit https://www.santeecooper.com/. The utility's Community Cares fund lets neighbors help neighbors pay their power bills through a partnership with the United Way of Horry County, Black River United Way, and Trident United Way; requests for Community Cares funds are made through SC 211, which is the program's application channel, and awards depend on available funding.
Customers who need more time on a bill can contact Santee Cooper directly for payment arrangements. The utility also offers Smart Energy loans for high-efficiency heat pumps, duct replacement, and heat pump water heaters, with larger loans available for renewable energy systems, and it maintains a list of local agencies that assist with bills and weatherization. Read more in the NHPB guide to Santee Cooper assistance programs.
York Electric Cooperative serves York County and portions of Cherokee, Chester, and Lancaster counties. Call member services at 803-684-4248 or visit https://www.yorkelectric.net/. The co-op's Operation Round Up trust makes grants to local nonprofit agencies that serve community needs, and members facing an emergency should call member services to be connected with those local help agencies.
York also offers payment arrangements and levelized budget billing for members with twelve months of good payment history. A free third-party notification service lets you designate a relative or friend who will be alerted whenever your account goes past due, which is a useful safeguard for seniors and members with health conditions.
Water bills and shut-off protection come with their own rules in South Carolina. Regulated water and wastewater utilities must offer payment plans, and the state's Office of Regulatory Staff handles consumer complaints when a customer believes they were treated unfairly. Read more in the NHPB guide to South Carolina water bill assistance.
Government assistance in South Carolina for utility, light, and electric bills
If you are not sure where to start, or your utility is not covered in this guide, dialing 211 connects you with the energy assistance programs serving your county.
LIHEAP and free weatherization are the state's largest sources of energy bill help. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program provides cash grants toward heating and cooling costs, plus a crisis component for households facing disconnection, and the Weatherization Assistance Program makes free efficiency repairs that lower bills permanently. Both are administered by the South Carolina Office of Economic Opportunity through local community action agencies, which is where applications are filed. Read more in the NHPB guide to South Carolina LIHEAP and low-income energy help.
Free fans or air conditioning help may be available for the most heat-vulnerable residents. Some utilities and local agencies work together each summer to provide cooling equipment to eligible seniors and adults with disabilities, and community action agencies can say what is funded in a given year. The NHPB guide to free air conditioners explains the main sources of cooling help.
The South Carolina Energy Office, part of the state Office of Regulatory Staff at 1901 Main Street in Columbia, can be reached at 803-737-0800 for information and referrals on energy programs. The Office of Regulatory Staff also runs a consumer services line for complaints and disputes with regulated electric, gas, and water utilities, including disconnection issues, at 803-737-5230 or toll-free 1-800-922-1531 within South Carolina.
Discuss options or post your needs on the forum
You can also look for local South Carolina resources in our community forum. As people from across the state interact there, post other programs or places that may help pay utilities and share information about their hardships. You will find real life stories and experiences from people all over the state. See the moderated South Carolina utility assistance forum page for other assistance programs or post your own needs - access to real life experiences.
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