Laurens Electric Cooperative, Inc.

South Carolina law requires a 72 hour notice (three working days) before you excavate. Why? In order to reduce and/or prevent dig-ins. A dig-in can cause death or injury, damage to public or private property, and loss or interruption of services.

Having lines located before you dig can save you:

■Costly repairs to damaged pipes, lines, etc.
■Delays in construction
■Wasted crew time
■Personal injury or property damage
The Palmetto Utility Protection Service, Inc., or PUPS, is a corporation formed and funded by participating utility companies hoping to improve community and job safety, and promote improved service through damage reduction to utilities.

PUPS is a computerized notification center which establishes a computer link between those who dig underground and those who operate underground facilities. PUPS is also FREE.

The phone number to call is 1-888-721-7877, or click on the link to go to the PUPS Website.

You will be required to provide the following information:

■Telephone number
■Name of caller
■County and city
■Address or job location
■Start date and time
■Type of work
■Contractor
■Contractor Address

.Applying for Service
If you would like to speak with someone in our Customer Service Department about starting service, please drop by or call toll-free 1-800-942-3141 or fill out our service request form.
When applying for service, it is helpful to have pertinent information ready BEFORE applying.
Such information includes:
Applicant’s Name
Mailing Address and Service Address
Daytime and Nighttime Phone Numbers
E-mail address (if applicable)
Place of Employment
Social Security Number of Applicant and Co-applicant
Location of Property
Meter Number (if available)
Landlord Name and Phone Number (if applicable)

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Service Request
If you would like to speak with someone in our Customer Service Department about service of any kind, please drop by or call toll-free 1-800-942-3141 or fill out our contact form.
When calling to request for service of any kind, other than an initial connect, it is not just helpful, but more efficient to have pertinent information on hand, ready to supply to customer service representatives who will take your call.
Such information includes:
Name
Address
Phone number
Social Security number
Account number
Having this type of information ready BEFORE calling will help ensure your call is processed quickly and correctly.
Also, for information about your account, you may dial 1-800-942-3141 and choose automated account access, which will supply relevant information according to which options you choose using the keypad on your phone

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Report Outage
If you experience a power outage and have already checked your main breaker, please call our toll free outage line at 1-866-9 RESTORE. If you make the call from a location at which the power is not off, please be prepared to key in the phone number of the location where the power is off, and leave any information which might help us find the problem faster.
Please call if you experience a momentary power interruption even if the power comes back on immediately. If the problem persists, we will have a record of it and it can help us to ultimately find the cause of the problem.
At LEC, we utilize a highly sophisticated automated telephone answering system to handle outage calls. While we would prefer to answer calls personally, our customer base is reaching 50,000 and it is not possible for us to staff the cooperative for emergencies 24 hours a day. This phone system allows us to process a high volume of calls, and helps our dispatchers focus restoration efforts on problems that will get the largest number of customer’s power back on. This system also allows us to call back and confirm when power has been restored to large numbers of customers.
We are working toward being able to display outage data at our website and to provide real-time information to customers, media, and public officials. We hope to have this capability within the next year. The technology is a Geographic Information System (ESRI) that will help us analyze the performance of our system and concentrate system-improvement dollars on our worst performing circuits. This technology is very important for us to constantly improve our service to you.

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Service Specification
Temp Underground Specs
Temp Overhead Service
Residential Underground Specs
Residential Overhead Over Roof
Residential Overhead Under Roof
Overhead to Underground Specs
Mobile Home Overhead Service
Mobile Home Underground/Breaker
Mobile Home Underground/Combo
Camper Overhead Service

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Special Needs Services
Laurens Electric Cooperative wants to ensure that members with special needs are adequately served and get the priority service they require. Members with medical conditions that depend on uninterrupted electric service may submit a request to the co-op, along with medical documentation. The certification form can be completed here, or you can call 1-800-942-3141 to request a form through the mail.

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Report Electricity Theft
Did you know that according to industry standards, an estimated $248, 220 is lost each year to energy theft?
Didn’t realize that stealing energy was such a problem? Wouldn’t you rather have had that $248, 220 in the pockets of those of us who work hard to pay our bills? Since Laurens Electric Cooperative is member owned, that means that energy theft is costing you money as well. Covering energy theft drives up prices for everyone involved, except, of course, the thief.
LEC’s rates have not increased in over ten years, which is amazing considering that even a can of soda costs up to seventy-five cents these days. However, in order to remain this way, we must work together to put a stop to energy theft. Not only is it detrimental to keeping LEC’s rates down, but it is illegal under South Carolina Code 16-13-385 to tamper with your electric meter. Those who do so are not only exposing themselves to criminal charges, but to a very life threatening situation – electrical shock.
Do not cut the seal on your meter base for any reason. If you need the seal cut for access to the meter base, call us ahead of time to schedule someone to come out and help you. Even a licensed electrician must have a Lauren Electric Co-op Technician cut the seal on the electrical meter. The charge for unauthorized seal cutting is $50.00.
We have trained our Field Service Technicians to recognize the signs of meter tampering. Laurens Electric Cooperative has, and will continue to prosecute anyone who has tampered with their electric meter or tries to illegally reconnect their electric service. The charge for meter tampering is $150.00.
If you know or think you know of anyone stealing electricity, let us know by:
Submitting your report to Laurens Electric Cooperative online, or Calling us at 1-800-942-3141
Energy Theft Report Form
If you would like to speak with someone in our Customer Service Department about starting service, please drop by or call toll-free 1-800-942-3141 or complete the form below.
When applying for service, it is helpful to have pertinent information ready BEFORE applying.
Such information includes:
Applicant’s Name
Mailing Address and Service Address
Daytime and Nighttime Phone Numbers
E-mail address (if applicable)
Place of Employment
Social Security Number of Applicant and Co-applicant
Location of Property
Meter Number (if available)
Landlord Name and Phone Number (if applicable)


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Disconnecting Service
If you would like to speak with someone in our Customer Service Department about disconnecting service, please drop by, call toll-free 1-800-942-3141 or complete the form below.
When disconnecting service, it is helpful to have pertinent information ready BEFORE applying.
Such information includes:
The account number from location to be disconnected
The service address to be disconnected, and in some cases, the meter number.
It is important to let the customer service representative handling your call know if there is more than one meter at the location to be disconnected. Also, you should inform the customer service representative if there are one or more security lights at the location to be disconnected.
The customer service representative may also ask you questions about the account to verify that it is the correct account, and that the person calling has the authority to make a change. The customer service representative will ask for a daytime telephone number for any type of transaction.
Your Name(required)Email(valid email required)Account Number(required)Phone Number(required)Service Address(required)Address Line 2(required)City(required)State(required)Zip Code(required)Meter NumberDisconnect Date (Mon-Fri)(required)Forwarding Address(required)Address Line 2City(required)State(required)Zip Code(required)Prove you are human
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Co-op Connections Card


You benefit from Co-op Connections®! Laurens Electric Cooperative, a Touchstone Energy® cooperative, is proud to be an integral part of the communities we serve. That’s why we’re participating in Co-op Connections, a new program that helps you receive discounts on products and services from participating local and national businesses.
FREE to all members Each member of our co-op receives the Co-op Connections card free. There’s no signup. No annual fees. You get your Co-op Connections card simply because you’re a member of Laurens Electric Co-op.
Valuable discounts
Look for the Co-op Connections stickers in windows at local businesses.Show your Co-op Connections card and get valuable discounts from these participating businesses.Your card also entitles you to substantial pharmacy discounts nationwide!Watch for updates on our Web site.Visit a complete list of local, regional and national participants at www.connections.coop

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Right of Way Program
Laurens Electric Cooperative (LEC) proactively engages in a system-wide right-of-way maintenance program to provide safe and reliable electric service to its members – all day, every day.
We provide electric services with over 5,500 miles of power lines to more than 45,000 members within 1,400 square miles of Upstate South Carolina, making LEC the fourth largest cooperative by number of members in South Carolina. Providing cost efficient and reliable electric service to our members is challenging because the terrain varies and is covered with many fast growing species of trees. Our well-managed right-of-way maintenance program helps LEC provide its members with safe and reliable electric services.
While trees add to the beauty of our communities, they are also responsible for costly property damage as well as dangerous and inconvenient power outages. In fact, tree failure is by far the leading cause of outages. A tree that grows into electrical conductors presents a potential hazard to you and others if it becomes energized when contacting a power line. Our electric system performed admirably during the most recent ice storm in December, 2002, in large part due to our proactive right-of-way program. The right-of-way program is a critical part of your everyday reliable electric service and is a critical part of our business, but most importantly, it is a critical part of your safety – for your family, friends and neighbors.
What is Right-of-Way?In the strict sense of the word, right-of-way refers to the land on which infrastructure is built. Infrastructure could be anything from a highway, airport or power lines. Projects such as power lines, pipelines or telephone facilities all require right-of-way.
LEC uses right-of-way to build and maintain power lines. We maintain right-of-way areas by controlling brush and tree re-growth in all easement areas. Right-of-way is usually on private land and is obtained by an agreement with the current landowner when new poles and wires are installed. LEC doesn’t own the private land, but is legally granted the right by the landowner to maintain brush and tree re-growth.
Why LEC needs right-of-way?Laurens Electric has a legal obligation to provide safe and reliable electric service to our members. This obligation could not be met without a commitment to an effective right-of-way program.
With the vast size of LEC’s service area and its diverse terrain, a well maintained right-of-way program is a critical part of our everyday functions. It is important to have clearance between trees, brush and power lines and poles, so your power stays on. If the power does go out, a maintained right-of-way helps our line crews spot the cause of an outage so they can get your power back on more quickly. Thick brush and trees in easement areas limits access and cuts efficiency and safety for line crews. Before crews can fix a power outage, they need to drive or walk every piece of line before turning on the power or it could be harmful or even fatal to a line worker or yourself. If line crews can’t access the lines because of poor right-of-way, the member is more likely to be without power for a longer period of time and more often.
About LEC’s right-of-way programLaurens Electric’s right-of-way program is managed by Willie Reid, Contract Coordinator. Willie has been employed by the cooperative over 25 years, carries a commercial license from the Department of Pesticide Regulation, and is an active member in the South Carolina Vegetation Management Association in Columbia.
Right-of-way maintenance is accomplished through side trimming and removing trees and limbs, bush hogging underbrush to allow access, and the use of environmentally friendly herbicides. Urban areas are maintained utilizing a two-year cycle and rural areas are on a four-year cycle. LEC spends nearly $1 Million dollars a year trimming, treating, and clearing right-of-way.
Our right-of-way clearance is 20 feet on each side of the power line. If trimming needs to be done the tree should be left in a healthy state, with some aesthetic value. If this cannot be accomplished, we may opt to remove the tree if it is cost effective rather than create an eyesore and future problems. A danger tree is one that is partially dead, shows sign of rot, or has insect infestation, cankers, eroded root systems, conifers with brown needles, or is a deciduous tree that will no longer leaf out and clearly will cause damage to a Laurens Electric power line that can create an unsafe condition.
Our crews pay special attention when evaluating the line clearance before trimming or removing a tree. The National Electric Safety Code requires us to follow a certain amount of clearance around wires and trees. This can depend on voltage, the tree’s growth rate and other characteristics, and the re-clearing cycle – how frequently it will need to be re-cleared. In cases where we’ve encountered large established trees on right-of-way, we have found that the removal of limbs helps to redirect the future re-growth away from the wires, thereby eliminating the need to remove the entire tree. This also keeps maintenance costs to a minimum while helping to insure that the tree won’t need drastic trimming in the future.
After re-clearing, brush and re-growth is maintained with an environmentally friendly herbicide treatment, which encourages slow re-growth. The herbicides that are used are varieties which can be purchased over the counter by private land owners. The products are used in accordance with label instructions and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Our personnel must carry current herbicide labels and material safety data sheets, as is required by law. We control all species of woody brush and trees, except for berry bushes and small growing flowering plants.
Member and landowner notificationMembers of Laurens Electric and landowners are notified before crews begin working on a section of scheduled right-of-way by mail.
Although LEC can legally maintain easement areas without any prior notification, we feel it is a customer courtesy to inform the property owner again with an easement maintenance notice. If members or landowners have any questions about right-of-way maintenance in their area, we encourage them to contact the general foreman listed at the bottom of the notice.
Reporting a tree problemThere are ways to report a tree problem. In emergency situations for example, when a tree is leaning on a power line, etc. please contact LEC directly at 866-9RESTORE.
The emergency situation will be handled as soon as possible. The non-emergency situation often needs to be scheduled and we will try to handle the situation as soon as possible. Whether the non-emergency situation can be handled immediately depends on available crews and whether the call is received during their busiest right-of-way season, which is generally in the spring until late summer. To report a non-emergency situation, please call LEC at 800-942-3141 or send an e-mail.

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Payment Options
Average PayWe can help you guard against large fluctuations in your monthly electric bill without ever having to catch up at the end of the year.
The plan is called AveragePay and it is designed to keep your electric bill affordable every month of the year.
AveragePay makes your electric bill predictable by using a rolling average of your present month’s bill and eleven previous months’ usage plus your current balance. Because of the rolling average your monthly bill will change slightly every month but you will never have the large ups and downs that could cause you to get down and out.
With AveragePay , there’s never any sign-up fee, nor is there a monthly service charge. Your bill will show you the number of Kilowatt hours you use each month, but you will pay for the average usage for the most recent 12 months.
You must have been a Laurens Electric member at least a year to apply for AveragePay. If you have any questions about this special service, call us at 1-800-942-3141.
Click here to apply for the Average Pay program
FlexPayMeeting the needs of our members has always been a top priority. That’s why we are always willing to be flexible to serve you better. One program that allows us to adjust to your needs is FlexPay.
It’s designed for members who rely on Social Security or disability income. If you receive a check from one of these agencies and get your power bill before your money arrives, we can change the due date to fit your schedule.
We will read your meter during the regularly scheduled time each month but you will get your bill before the end of the month. This will give you extra time before your bill is due.
To qualify for FlexPay, you must fill out a simple form. If you have any questions about this special service, call us at 1-800-942-3141.
SimplePayLet us take the worry out of paying your electric bill. SimplePay is not only the easiest way to pay, it’s also the most convenient and it saves you from worrying about being late with your bill payment. With SimplePay, you have the security of knowing that your bill will always be paid on time. That’s because the bank automatically pays it for you!
How does it work?
Fill out a bank draft authorization form and sign it.
Attach a copy of a voided check. Bring it back to our office and let a customer service representative do the rest! Or, you can fax the copy to 864-683-5188 or scan and email to customercare@laurenselectric.com. That’s all there is to it. Your bank will make your payments for you on time and on your due date each month you will still receive your bill that shows you when and for how much your account will be drafted.
Laurens Electric also offers Credit Card Draft, which works in much the same way. Contact customer service for details.
If you have any questions about your bill, you’ll have time to call before the paym