Tri-County Electric Cooperative

09/02/2026

⚡ September is National Preparedness Month ⚡

Severe weather can happen at any time in South Carolina. Now is a good time to review your family’s emergency plan and prepare an emergency kit with flashlights, batteries, bottled water, medications, and important contact information.

Help keep your family and home safe:

🔹 Sign up for local emergency alerts.

🔹 Trim tree limbs and secure outdoor items that could fall or blow into power lines.

🔹 Report outages and electrical hazards immediately.

🔹 Stay away from downed power lines and always assume they are energized.

🔹 After a storm, check for damaged wires, sparks, or burning smells. If your meter box or weatherhead is damaged, have a licensed electrician inspect it before power is restored.

🔹 When using a generator, keep it outdoors and away from windows and doors. Never connect it directly to your home’s wiring without a properly installed transfer switch. This can cause dangerous backfeeding and place your family and utility crews at risk.

Preparing before a storm, avoiding electrical hazards during it, and inspecting for damage afterward can help prevent injuries and property damage.

Learn more from the South Carolina Emergency Management Division: https://www.scemd.org/

09/01/2026

NOW OPEN IN SANTEE!

Tri-County Electric Cooperative members and TriCoLink customers can now make payments at our new payment kiosk located at Santee Town Hall (194 Brookstone Rd, Santee SC 29142) . The kiosk is officially open and ready for transactions. Payments can be made using:

• Cash
• Check
• Credit card
• Debit card

Please note that the kiosk does not provide change.

We are proud to offer this convenient new payment option to better serve our members and customers in the Santee community.

09/01/2026

Approximately 25 minutes ago, members in the St. Matthews office area experienced a brief power interruption after a vehicle struck a Tri-County utility pole near the intersection of Highways 176 and 601.

Crews are currently sectionalizing the line to isolate the damaged area. Members in the Crossvine and Bugleflower subdivisions, located across from our St. Matthews office, will be without power for several hours while crews replace the broken pole.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call us at 803-874-1215.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as our crews work safely and quickly to restore service to all affected members.

08/17/2026

Santee Cooper has experienced three transmission blinks since Saturday, including two today, affecting customers throughout the Lower Richland area. Their crews are actively investigating the cause and working to resolve the issue as quickly and safely as possible.

We understand that repeated power blinks can be frustrating and disruptive. We appreciate your patience and understanding as Santee Cooper crews continue working to mitigate the issue.

08/17/2026

With heat advisories and triple-digit heat indexes affecting our service area, cooling systems are working harder than ever. Extreme heat causes air-conditioning systems to run longer and more frequently, which can increase energy costs. Here are a few simple tips to help our members save energy during a heat wave.

08/10/2026

📱 TriCoLink Text Alerts Are Coming!

TriCoLink is introducing a new text notification system to help keep subscribers informed about service interruptions, outages and other important updates affecting their address.

Subscribers with a mobile number on their account will receive a welcome text from TriCoLink Fiber. The message is legitimate, and no action is required to continue receiving alerts.

If you prefer not to receive text notifications, simply reply STOP to opt out. Message and data rates may apply.

08/05/2026

⚠️ STAY AWAY. STAY ALIVE. COPPER THEFT CAN KILL. ⚠️

Copper theft is not a harmless crime. Power lines, meter bases and other utility equipment may remain energized even when they appear damaged or disconnected. Cutting, touching or tampering with this equipment can result in severe electrical burns, permanent injury or death.

If you see an unauthorized person cutting wires, climbing a utility pole or tampering with utility equipment:

• Stay back and do not approach.
• Call 911 immediately.
• Never touch wires, poles or meter bases.
• Keep children and pets away from the area.

Report damaged Tri-County Electric equipment by calling 803-874-1215.

The value of stolen copper is never worth a life. Stay away. Stay alive.

08/01/2026

System Update: All Services Restored

The payment system, Energy Online portal, and mobile app are now back to normal and available for use.

Tri-County Electric members and TriCoLink customers may now access their accounts and make payments online or through the mobile app as usual.

We appreciate your patience and understanding while our IT team worked to resolve the issue. Thank you for allowing us to serve you!

08/01/2026

⚠️ Payment System, Online Portal, and Mobile App Temporarily Unavailable

Tri-County Electric members and TriCoLink customers are currently unable to access the payment system, Energy Online portal, or mobile app due to technical difficulties.

Please do not attempt to make a payment at this time. Our IT team is aware of the issue and is working to restore all systems as quickly as possible.

To report a power outage, please call 803-874-1215, and a member of our team will be happy to assist you.

We will provide another update on Facebook once all systems have been restored. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

07/16/2026