Someone's got to turn on those bright lights in the big city -- and in the small cities, too. South Carolina Public Service Authority, known as Santee Cooper (after two interconnected river systems), provides wholesale electricity to 20 cooperatives and two municipalities that serve more than 700,000 customers in South Carolina. It directly retails electricity to more than 164,680 customers. One of the largest US state-owned utilities, Santee Cooper operates in all 46 counties in South Carolina and has stakes in power plants (fossil-fueled, nuclear, hydro, and renewable) that give it more than 5,660 MW of generating capacity. The Santee Cooper Regional Water System distributes water to 137,000 consumers.