Electricity
Cherokee County has three primary electric providers that each share territory within the County boundaries.
Gaffney Board of Public Works
Visit Website
Portions of Cherokee County receive electricity from the Gaffney Board of Public Works. The reliability of the system has proven to be superior to local competitors due to a comprehensive preventative maintenance program and year round right-of-way maintenance program.
The Board provides electricity to nearly 7,300 customers through approximately 130 miles of lines. Wholesale power from Piedmont Municipal Power Agency is supplied through three delivery points one of which is owned by the Board.
Piedmont Municipal Power Agency is a joint action agency in which Gaffney, along with 9 other upstate cities, is a member. The agency owns 25% of the Catawba Nuclear Plant. The pride of the Board is the service it provides. Service requests generally have a same day or next day turn around.
The electrical department is able to offer comprehensive lighting packages to area businesses and industries. The Board finances the project up front providing all equipment, maintenance, and energy for a set monthly fee. We also offer various incentives including reduced rates and special financing for customers who take measures to conserve energy. The Board is always seeking to attract new businesses and industries to our service area.
Duke Energy
Visit Website
Duke Energy serves approximately 2.4 million customers across 24,000 square miles in North Carolina and South Carolina including a large section of Cherokee County. Duke’s utility rates are some of the lowest in the nation: 20% – 30% below the U.S. national average. The Duke Energy Economic Development team is divided into three departments to better serve specific business, economic development and site selection needs:
Economic Development Team
Duke’s Economic Development professionals cover the entire 24,000 square mile service territory of Duke Energy Carolinas. Each team member has over 20 years of experience in working for Duke Energy. Whether you are a site selection consultant or company that is self performing its site selection effort, our team of experts can help you with:
- Industrial building searches and screening
- Greenfield and/or brownfield industrial site searches and screening
- Demographic and detailed community data
- Product development via our Site Readiness & Building Readiness Programs
- Preparation of RFPs (Request For Proposals)
- Custom economic development information and GIS maps
- Site visits, along with state, regional and local community meeting coordination
Business Development Team
Duke’s team of Business Development professionals covers the entire 48,000 square mile service territory of Duke Energy, which includes North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Each team member has both national and international experience in industrial recruitment. The Business Development team specializes in:
- Targeted industrial recruitment
- Product development
- Initial/Early phase project development and coordination
- Industrial building searches and screening
- Greenfield and/or brownfield industrial site and searches and screening
- Site visits, along with state, regional and local community meeting coordination
Territorial Strategies Team
Duke’s Territorial Strategies team is specialized in assessing service territory rights within our North Carolina and South Carolina state borders. Within Duke’s service territory, one can find buildings and land designated as:
- Assigned (exclusive rights to serve designated to one utility provider)
- Unassigned (rights to serve are open to a few utility providers )
- Customer choice (several utility providers, customer selects which utility company as its service provider)
Broad River Electric Cooperative
Visit Website
BROAD RIVER ELECTRIC, a 75-year old electric distribution and Touchstone Energy cooperative, is proud to be an integral part of commerce and economic development in this area. Not only do we deliver reliable electrical service at a competitive rate, but we are also an active participant in attracting and retaining local businesses and industry to the local economy. In addition to providing energy to nearly 1,000 commercial and industry accounts, Broad River has been crucial in the development of 13 industrial sites throughout Cherokee and Union County.
One of our crucial partners in these efforts is the South Carolina Power Team. The South Carolina Power Team is the economic development group for the state’s electric cooperatives – including Broad River Electric. They exist to help new industrial/distribution facilities locate in Broad River Electric’s territory
Broad River Electric Cooperative is one of 20 member-owned electric co-ops in South Carolina. From our headquarters in Gaffney, SC, we serve Cherokee, Spartanburg, Union, and Newberry counties in South Carolina and portions of Cleveland, Polk, and Rutherford counties in North Carolina.
Founded in 1940 to meet the needs of a small number of rural residents who needed electric service, the cooperative has more than 20,000 business and residential Member-Owners and 2,348 miles of power line.
Our mission also encompasses the four Touchstone Energy values: accountability, integrity, innovation, and commitment to community. You’ll find that much of what we do—whether it’s doing business with you or doing work to better our community—have these values at their core.
Natural Gas
Natural gas providers in Cherokee County include the Town of Blacksburg as well as Piedmont Natural Gas which is the major provider throughout most of Cherokee County. For information about The Town of Blacksburg’s services, contact the Cherokee County Development Board office.
Piedmont Natural Gas
Visit Website
Piedmont Natural Gas is an energy services company primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to one million residential, commercial and industrial utility customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, including 62,000 customers served by municipalities who are wholesale customers. Our subsidiaries are invested in joint venture, energy-related businesses, including unregulated retail natural gas marketing, interstate natural gas storage and intrastate natural gas transportation.
York County Natural Gas Authority
Visit Website
For over 50 years York County Natural Gas Authority (YCNGA) has provided residential, commercial and industrial gas service throughout York County, South Carolina. In April of 2010 YCNGA added another gas system which was purchased from the Town of Blacksburg. We invite you to learn more about YCNGA, our mission and the advantages of using natural gas.
Communications
Spectrum Business
Visit Website
At Charter Business, we help businesses achieve better results by delivering reliable Internet, Ethernet, Phone and Enhancement solutions. We offer a wide range of products – from high-quality broadband services to phone systems and top-tier digital TV and Music that are flexible and can meet the demands of growing businesses.
AT&T
Visit Website
Cherokee County business communications services are provided by AT&T.
AT&T offers solutions in key areas such as voice, broadband Internet, messaging, wireless and advertising, as well as the expertise to assist small businesses, which often have minimal in-house communications and IT support.
Water & Wastewater
Depending on location, the water and wastewater service in Cherokee County is provided by either The Town of Blacksburg or the Gaffney Board of Public Works. For information about The Town of Blacksburg’s water and sewer infrastructure, contact the Cherokee County Economic Development Board office.
Gaffney Board of Public Works
Visit Website
Water
The Board’s water division serves approximately 9,500 residential, commercial, and industrial customers. A raw water pump station, on the Broad River pumps to our primary source, Lake Whelchel, or directly into the Victor Gaffney and Cherokee Water Treatment Plants. This assures an adequate water supply well into the next century. The Board has a total treatment capacity of 18 million gallons of water per day. In addition to over 200 miles of water lines, the Board has four above ground storage tanks, including the Peachoid, and 2 million gallons of ground level storage.
Wastewater
The wastewater treatment division provides sanitary sewer services to approximately 6,850 customers in and around Gaffney. The Board operates two wastewater treatment plants. The Clary Plant can treat 3.6 million gallons per day; and the Broad River Plant treats 4 million gallons per day. In addition to these plants, the Board has installed and maintains over 130 miles of sewer lines.