Chad Stone
As I begin the new year as general manager of Little River Electric Cooperative, I want to say that I am honored and humbled by this opportunity. While I may be new to this position, I have spent more than 30 years working at LREC.
I was born and raised in Abbeville County and graduated from Abbeville High School. I knew early on that I wanted to work at Little River Electric Cooperative. This career path would allow me to work outside, serve my community and keep me in the area with the people I love.
I met my wife, Angie, in high school. She knew my dreams and has supported me ever since. Her passion for the cooperative runs as deep as mine. We now have two sons, Jacob (wife, Hope) and Jonah (fiancé, Noel). Last year, we were blessed with our grandson, John Luke.
I started my career at Little River Electric 31 years ago as a meter technician. I held that position for nearly four years, learning our system by reading meters at every home. From there, I became an equipment operator, apprentice lineman, a journeyman and years later, a crew foreman. With each new role, I have strived to lead by example. After becoming a crew foreman, I continued to mentor the men under my leadership to excel and reach their highest potential. I am proud of each one of their achievements.
For the past year and a half, I have served LREC and our members as operations manager, a role I have truly enjoyed.
As we look to the future, my focus remains on innovation, sustainability and community. My goal is to provide a place where employees feel valued and respected while prioritizing their safety. I want Little River Electric to be known for providing its members with reliable power, quick restoration times, transparency about costs and excellent customer service.
Little River Electric is faced with many challenges, including rising material costs, which are up more than 70% since 2019. Like all South Carolina electric cooperatives, LREC purchases electricity through long-term contracts with suppliers such as Duke Energy and Santee Cooper. Our rates are driven in large part by the price of wholesale power from those suppliers. Those wholesale prices are going up.
In particular, we will see significant cost increases arise due to the end of a court-agreed Santee Cooper rate freeze on Dec. 31, 2024. Starting in 2025, Santee Cooper customers—including LREC members—will begin paying for the unbudgeted, extra costs that Santee Cooper incurred during its four-year rate freeze period.
We don’t know exactly how much co-op members statewide will have to pay for these new costs, but we expect it to be substantial—into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
I think it’s important for members to be aware of these challenges. There are many important questions still to be answered, but you have my promise that we will be transparent and proactive as we work to keep your power affordable.
Despite the challenges, I am excited about the future of Little River Electric and humbled to be leading the way.
CHAD STONE
General Manager
