MPD Electric Cooperative Rate Selection Guide
MPD Electric Cooperative, formed in 2020 from the merger of Marlboro Electric and Pee Dee Electric, serves roughly 38,600 members across seven Pee Dee-region counties in South Carolina. Members get hourly, daily, and monthly usage plus Green Button Download My Data (ESPI XML) through NISC SmartHub, but the cooperative offers no EDI, no Connect My Data, and no third-party API — third-party access requires customer-shared exports or direct arrangements.
Market Overview
MPD Electric Cooperative operates in South Carolina's fully regulated market — members cannot shop for competitive electricity supply. The cooperative was formed in 2020 by merging Marlboro Electric Cooperative and Pee Dee Electric Cooperative and runs on the NISC platform.
Need to pull your actual usage data to compare rates? See the MPD Electric Cooperative Data Access Guide →
Current Rate Schedules
MPD Electric Cooperative sets its own rates as a member-owned cooperative — South Carolina electric co-ops are not rate-regulated by the SC Public Service Commission — with wholesale power supplied through the state's generation-and-transmission cooperative network. Rate classes follow the standard co-op pattern: residential, small commercial/general service, and demand-metered large power, plus security lighting and an industrial/economic development track for sites like Pee Dee Commerce City. MPD does not publish detailed rate schedules openly on the web; current charges per class are available from member services and the cooperative's rate schedule documents — contact MPD or see the posted tariff for current rates.
Effective: January 1, 2025 · Full Tariff Book →
| Schedule | Type | Applicability | Structure | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Commercial / General Service | commercial | Shops, offices, farms, and small businesses without significant measured demand. | Monthly facilities charge plus per-kWh energy charge and power cost adjustment; no demand charge. See MPD's rate schedule for current figures. | — |
| Large Power Service | commercial | Demand-metered commercial and industrial accounts — manufacturing, processing, warehousing, and agricultural operations. | Facilities charge, per-kW demand charge on the monthly billed peak, per-kWh energy charge, and wholesale power cost adjustment. Demand ratchets and power factor provisions are typical in SC co-op large power schedules — confirm specifics with MPD. | —+ Per-kW demand billing applies; contact MPD for current rates |
| Industrial / Economic Development Service | industrial | Large industrial loads, including sites in Pee Dee Commerce City and other certified industrial parks in MPD territory. | Contract-based service with negotiated demand levels and potential economic development riders for new and expanding loads. MPD's economic development team coordinates rate structuring for site selection. | — |
| Outdoor / Security Lighting | commercial | Member security lights and area lighting. | Flat monthly charge per fixture by lamp type. See rate schedule for current charges. | — |
Rate Recommendations by Use Case
Manufacturing and industrial facilities
Demand-metered plants in the Pee Dee region bill under MPD's Large Power schedule, where the monthly kW peak drives a substantial share of cost.
Like most SC cooperative large power tariffs, MPD's structure pairs a per-kW demand charge with energy charges and a wholesale power cost adjustment — making peak management and load factor the dominant levers. Exact charges aren't published online, so request the current schedule and any ratchet provisions from member services before modeling.
- Request the full Large Power rate schedule and confirm whether a demand ratchet applies
- Stagger motor starts and manage HVAC recovery to cap the 15-minute billing peak
- Use SmartHub interval data to identify and time-shift peak-setting loads
Site selection and expanding industrial loads
Companies locating in MPD territory — including the 705-acre Pee Dee Commerce City park at I-95 — should engage MPD's economic development team on rate structuring.
MPD actively supports site selection with GIS data, certified sites, and custom development assistance, and new large loads often qualify for negotiated contract demand terms or build-up periods that reduce early-stage demand billing.
- Negotiate contract demand levels matched to a realistic ramp-up schedule
- Ask about economic development riders for new or expanding loads before signing service agreements
- Coordinate utility infrastructure (voltage level, transformation ownership) decisions with rate implications
Small commercial and agricultural accounts
Shops, offices, and farm operations without large demand take general service with flat per-kWh billing.
General service keeps billing simple, but accounts with growing demand should periodically compare against Large Power — high-load-factor operations frequently pay less under demand billing once peaks justify the switch.
- Review your rate class with MPD member services annually as load grows
- Track the wholesale power cost adjustment line separately when analyzing bill trends
- Use SmartHub usage views to spot avoidable consumption patterns
Cost Optimization Strategies
MPD members optimize costs by mining hourly SmartHub data for usage anomalies, exporting Green Button files for deeper analysis, and using the cooperative's energy audit program.
Analyze hourly load shape via Green Button
For: All members with SmartHub access
Export hourly Green Button XML (up to 14 months) and analyze when consumption peaks; align equipment schedules and identify base-load waste.
Set SmartHub usage alerts
For: Residential and commercial members
Configure usage alerts in SmartHub to catch anomalies (failed equipment, schedule drift) before they accumulate on the bill.
Use MPD energy audits
For: Members seeking efficiency improvements
MPD's Energy Experts provide audits identifying envelope, HVAC, and operational savings; pair audit findings with interval data to verify results.
Engage business development for large loads
For: Commercial / industrial accounts
Commercial accounts should contact the Chief Business Development Officer at (843) 292-4349 to discuss rate options and custom data arrangements.
To implement these strategies, you need your 15-minute interval data. Learn how to download MPD Electric Cooperative interval data →
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I download interval data from MPD Electric Cooperative?▾
Log into SmartHub at https://mpd.smarthub.coop/, open My Usage, and click Green Button Download My Data. Choose start/end dates and granularity (hourly or daily); MPD delivers a zipped ESPI XML file with up to 14 months of history that imports into any Green Button-compatible analysis platform.
Can third parties pull MPD data automatically?▾
No. MPD has no Green Button Connect My Data, no API, and no aggregator partnerships. The scalable workaround is customer-initiated: the member downloads Green Button XML and shares it. A reverse-engineered SmartHub API can extract 15-minute data, but it's unofficial, may violate terms of service, and risks account restriction.
Does MPD support EDI for supplier or billing transactions?▾
No. MPD documents no EDI trading partner program, transaction sets (814/820/867/810), or implementation guides — typical for a cooperative under 40,000 customers in a regulated state with no retail choice. B2B data exchange requires a custom arrangement through Member Services at (866) 747-0060.
What granularity of usage data does MPD provide?▾
SmartHub displays hourly, daily, and monthly usage from MPD's TWACS AMI meters (Aclara MDM backend). Green Button exports cover hourly/daily intervals; the unofficial SmartHub API exposes 15-minute resolution for technically sophisticated users willing to accept the support risk.
Who should commercial customers contact about MPD data arrangements?▾
Start with Member Services at (866) 747-0060 or (843) 665-4070, or the contact form at https://www.mpd.coop/contact/. For business accounts, the Chief Business Development Officer at (843) 292-4349 handles commercial rate and data discussions. Expect manual, case-by-case agreements rather than automated feeds.
What does Nectar's roadmap support level mean for MPD?▾
MPD is on Nectar's roadmap: automated ingestion is planned but not yet productized. Today, Nectar can ingest member-exported Green Button XML files and billing PDFs from SmartHub, or work through a negotiated data arrangement with the cooperative while native support is built.
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