Former U.S. Attorney nominated to serve as next chairman of Santee Cooper Board of Directors

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– On Wednesday, Governor Henry McMaster nominated former U.S. Attorney Peter M. McCoy Jr. to serve as the next chairman on the Santee Cooper Board of Directors.

Peter McCoy nominated as next chairman of Santee Cooper Board of Directors
Image: ABC Columbia

“It is my honor to nominate Peter McCoy to serve as chairman of Santee Cooper’s Board of Directors,” said Gov. Henry McMaster. “I am confident that he is the right man to protect our state’s ratepayers and taxpayers, to bring much-needed transparency and accountability to the Board of Directors, and to lead Santee Cooper fairly and honestly while the General Assembly determines its fate.”

Santee Cooper has been without a chair since 2017, when Leighton Lord resigned following the shutdown of construction at the VC Summer Facility in Fairfield County that cost billions of dollars and thousands of jobs.

Prior to serving as U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina, McCoy had served in the South Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 115 in Charleston County.

“If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed by the South Carolina Senate, I pledge to the people of South Carolina – specifically to the ratepayers of South Carolina – that I will put my heart and my soul into this operation,” McCoy said. “It’s so important to have someone in this position that’s willing to give 110 percent of their effort, and if I’m lucky enough to be confirmed, that’s precisely what I will do.”

House Speaker Jay Lucas expressed his confidence in McCoy taking on this new role, saying “there are good choices, there are better choices and at times there is the absolute best choice, and that choice is Peter McCoy,” said Lucas. “I know firsthand from working with him that he is a strong advocate of transparency and he is exactly the type of individual that can bring the cultural shift that Santee Cooper needs. There is no better man for this job.”