MONCKS CORNER, S.C. — The Santee Cooper board of directors, on Thursday, approved the hiring of Jimmy Staton, a utility executive with experience in electric and natural gas operations in the Midwestern United States. He starts on March 1, 2022.
The board also approved naming deputy CEO Charlie Duckworth as acting president and CEO from Jan. 10, 2022 through Feb. 28, 2022 and extending his current contract as deputy CEO through July 9, 2022.
Officials say the current president and CEO Mark Bonsall, will retire on Jan. 9, 2022 and remain available on a consulting basis through the initial transition, until early April.
Staton is currently president and CEO of Southern Star Corp., a leading transporter of natural gas in the Midwest. He has served as executive vice president for NiSource, one of the largest fully-regulated utility companies in the United States with approximately 3.5 million natural gas customers and 500,000 electric customers across seven states. Staton also served as senior vice president for Dominion Resources Inc., and as president of asset operations for Consolidated Natural Gas Corp. prior to its acquisition in 2000 by Dominion Resources.
"As a long-time customer, I'm excited to be joining the great team of people at Santee Cooper,” said Staton, who has owned a home in North Myrtle Beach for about 15 years. “I look forward to working with our customers and state leaders to ensure safe, reliable, and responsive energy service for South Carolina going forward."
Santee Cooper is South Carolina’s largest power provider and the ultimate source of electricity for 2 million people across the state.