In short: Santee Cooper serves much of Myrtle Beach and Conway, and that changes the math: homes paid about 11.4¢ per kWh in 2024, and customers lost only 58 minutes of power all year. Santee Cooper pays a rooftop solar rebate but credits exports at 4.15¢. Horry County’s “very high” hurricane risk still makes storm backup the first plan.
This page covers Myrtle Beach and Conway in Horry County. Statewide rules, the 25% state solar tax credit and contractor licensing are on our South Carolina energy guide. Along the Grand Strand the utilities and programs differ from the rest of the state, so the numbers below are local.
Myrtle Beach at a glance
- Santee Cooper: the state-owned utility serves retail customers directly in Horry County. Home price about 11.4¢ per kWh (2024 average). Outages in 2024: 55 minutes per customer on normal days and 58 minutes with major events (EIA-861).
- Horry Electric Cooperative: based in Conway, serving members across Horry County. About 13.2¢ per kWh; 108 minutes of outages on normal days, 133 with major events.
- Duke Energy Progress: also serves part of Horry County. About 14.9¢ per kWh across its South Carolina area; 126 minutes normal, 263 with major events.
- Sun: 4.63 kWh per square meter per day (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020). Our rough estimate: about 1,350 kWh a year per kW of panels.
- Top hazards (Horry County): hurricanes rated “very high”; coastal flooding, cold waves, ice storms, lightning, tornadoes and winter weather “relatively high”. Overall risk: “relatively high” (FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025).
- Public charging: Myrtle Beach had 108 public charging ports and Conway 22 (AFDC Station Locator, October 3, 2026; public Level 2 and DC fast ports).
Your utility and what it means
Santee Cooper. Santee Cooper is not part of the Duke and Dominion “Solar Choice” rules on our state page; it uses its own Distributed Generation rider. What its pages say today:
- Billing: solar power you use at home offsets your purchases at the full retail rate. Power you send to the grid is credited at $0.0415 per kWh. Solar customers pay a $10 monthly customer charge under the rider. It is not one-for-one net metering.
- Rebate: $950 per kW, up to $5,700, for qualifying rooftop systems installed by a Santee Cooper Trade Ally; the battery part of a system does not qualify, and the lifetime cap is 6 kW per customer. Rebates are paid after Santee Cooper’s final test and meter exchange (allow 6 to 8 weeks).
- Steps and limits: a $100 non-refundable interconnection fee comes first; residential systems are capped at 20 kW. Santee Cooper does not size or install systems. Check your HOA covenants first: if they prohibit solar, you cannot get the rebate.
- Financing: an on-bill Smart Energy Loan for renewable energy of up to $40,000 for qualifying customers.
- EVs: two “ChargeSmart” time-of-use plans, REV (whole house) and EVO (a separate meter for the charger, $5 a month extra), plus a listed home charger rebate program.
Amounts change, so check Santee Cooper’s EmpowerSolar and EmpowerAuto pages before you sign.
Horry Electric Cooperative. The co-op asks members to work with it on interconnection before installing solar, and lists a community solar program and an EV program. We could not confirm how it credits exports; ask the co-op. Duke Energy Progress customers follow Duke’s South Carolina Solar Choice rules on the state page.
Backup power in Myrtle Beach
Santee Cooper’s 2024 record was strong: 58 minutes of outages per customer, storms included, against more than 30 hours on Dominion’s system statewide. One good year does not change the coast’s risk, though. FEMA rates Horry County’s hurricane risk “very high”, with coastal flooding, tornadoes and ice storms “relatively high”, so plan for the occasional multi-day outage.
- Hours: a portable power station for phones, Wi-Fi, lights and a CPAP.
- A day or two: a home battery; with solar, it refills on sunny days after a storm.
- A long hurricane outage: a standby or portable generator, placed above likely flood water.
For rental and second homes, a standby generator or battery that switches on by itself protects a property nobody is watching. Compare options on the backup power guide, size them with the battery backup calculator and generator sizing tool, and see generator installation. Safety: generators outdoors only, at least 20 feet from the house, exhaust away from openings, never in a garage or on a porch (CPSC); battery-backed CO alarms on every level; a transfer switch or interlock installed by a licensed electrician.
Solar in Myrtle Beach
The sun is good, about 1,350 kWh per kW of panels a year on our rough estimate. The value depends on where each kWh goes. Used at home, it saves up to about 11.4¢, so a kW could be worth up to about $155 a year. Sent to the grid, it earns 4.15¢, about $56 a year per kW if all of it were exported. That gap means a Santee Cooper system should be sized to what you use while the sun is up, not to cover your whole annual bill (our estimates, not promises).
The rebate helps: a 6 kW system would reach the $5,700 cap. With the state’s 25% tax credit on top, and no federal credit after 2025, ask for quotes that show both. Check your roof with the solar potential calculator, compare solar cost, and read solar installation.
Home batteries in Myrtle Beach
Because Santee Cooper pays far less for exports than for the power it sells, a battery that stores midday solar for the evening keeps more of each kWh at home, and it doubles as hurricane backup. The rebate covers only the solar part, not the battery, and we found no Santee Cooper or Horry Electric battery rebate. See battery installation and home battery cost.
EV charging in Myrtle Beach
At Santee Cooper’s 11.4¢ average and 30 kWh per 100 miles, home charging costs about $3.40 per 100 miles, roughly $410 for 12,000 miles a year (our estimate), among the lowest of the South Carolina utilities we compared. Santee Cooper’s ChargeSmart time-of-use plans can lower that further for overnight charging. A Level 2 charger needs a 240-volt circuit, a permit and a licensed electrician; for the EVO plan the separate meter is installed at your cost. See EV charger installation and the EV charging cost calculator.
Drive on another fuel? See every alternative fuel station in Myrtle Beach: hydrogen, propane, natural gas, E85 ethanol, biodiesel and renewable diesel.
Permits and inspections
- City of Myrtle Beach: the Construction Services Department handles building and trade permits, plan review and inspections, and publishes solar panel requirements.
- City of Conway: the Building Department.
- Unincorporated Horry County: Horry County Code Enforcement, with a solar submittal checklist.
Check the installer’s state license (see the state page); for the Santee Cooper rebate, the installer must also be a Santee Cooper Trade Ally. Condo and HOA owners should get written approval before any roof, wall or generator work.
Cities we cover
- Myrtle Beach
- Conway
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Myrtle Beach energy FAQ
Does Santee Cooper have net metering?
Not one-for-one. Solar you use at home offsets your purchases at the full retail rate, but power you export is credited at $0.0415 per kWh under Santee Cooper’s Distributed Generation rider, which also carries a $10 monthly charge. That is why sizing solar to your daytime use, or adding a battery, matters more here than on Dominion or Duke.
How much is the Santee Cooper solar rebate?
Santee Cooper lists $950 per kW, up to $5,700, for qualifying rooftop systems installed by one of its Trade Allies, with a lifetime cap of 6 kW per customer. The battery portion is not eligible, a $100 interconnection fee is paid first, and rebates are typically mailed about six weeks after the final test. Check the EmpowerSolar page for current terms.
Who is my electric company in Myrtle Beach or Conway?
Three utilities serve Horry County: Santee Cooper, Horry Electric Cooperative and Duke Energy Progress. Santee Cooper has a retail office in Myrtle Beach, and Horry Electric is headquartered in Conway. Your bill shows which one serves your address, and each has different rates, solar rules and programs.
Do I need backup power if Santee Cooper’s outages are so short?
Probably some. Santee Cooper averaged 58 minutes of outages in 2024, but FEMA rates Horry County’s hurricane risk “very high”, and one major storm can mean days without power. A portable power station covers the basics cheaply; a battery or generator covers longer outages and empty vacation homes.
Sources
U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 for 2024 (utility sales, reliability, service territories, net metering), read October 3, 2026. Santee Cooper EmpowerSolar, Solar Home, solar rate study and ChargeSmart EV rate pages, read October 3, 2026. Horry Electric Cooperative solar and energy programs pages. FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025). NASA POWER climatology, 2001 to 2020. City of Myrtle Beach, City of Conway and Horry County permit pages. CPSC generator safety guidance.