Greer CPW is pleased to announce it recently received a Public Power Award of Excellence from ElectriCities of North Carolina in the “Strengthen Public Power” category for its June 2025 light bulb giveaway. Greer CPW is the first South Carolina member to receive this award from ElectriCities.

“This collaboration shows how utilities and industry partners can work together to support energy efficiency, deliver innovative solutions, and keep costs affordable for the people we serve,” said Alison Rauch, Greer CPW Public Information Coordinator.

ElectriCities of North Carolina is a membership organization that provides some members power supply, technical services, legislative expertise, and economic development assistance to publicly – owned electric systems in North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina. Criteria for the Public Power Award of Excellence included a program or campaign that promotes the five strategic priorities supporting the value of public power and must have been within a certain timeframe.

“We’re proud to honor this year’s recipients and the positive impact their work has on public power customers,” said Roy Jones, CEO at ElectriCities. “Behind every one of these awards is a team of skilled professionals committed to serving their community at the highest level, and we are thrilled to celebrate them.”

The recognition comes after thousands of indoor use light- emitting diode (LED) light bulbs donated by Signify were distributed to customers at the Customer Service Complex, Greer Relief, and Greer Community Ministries to promote energy efficiency and update contact information. Eligible residential customers were able to choose up to 10 LED soft white or bright white bulbs which can provide additional energy savings over incandescent bulbs.​

“Thanks to Signify’s generous donation, we found additional ways to serve our community and involve multiple departments within our organization.  Team members from Customer Service, Shipping and Receiving, and Communications played an important role in making the giveaway a success.  We’re already brainstorming how we can do this again,” said Rauch.

Reported by: Megan Fitzgerald for Greenville Journal

A new faith-based, inclusive private school will soon open its doors in downtown Greer for children of all abilities and backgrounds. 

Selah Grey Academy will serve students in kindergarten through 8th grade who require a specialized learning environment. Robyn Smith, the founder and executive director of Selah Grey Academy, said the school is designed to help students with higher needs who often fall through the cracks in traditional academic settings. 
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“Our theme for the school is that every child is seen, loved and celebrated,” Smith said.

School background

The new private school is part of the Selah Grey Foundation, a local nonprofit organization founded by Smith in 2020. The foundation was created in honor of her daughter, Selah, who was born with a rare genetic condition called Bosch-Boonstra-Schaaf Optic Atrophy Syndrome.

Smith’s daughter started attending the Meyer Center for Special Children in Greenville when she was three years old. She graduated from the special education school in May after completing second grade, the program’s final grade level. When determining her daughter’s next steps, Smith realized there were few educational options in the area that could meet her needs. 

To fill this gap, Smith decided to start her own therapeutic school to serve children with disabilities like her daughter. Selah Grey Academy will also welcome children from foster care and adoptive backgrounds, along with the siblings of enrolled students.  

“You see so much success when you put these kids in an environment where they are affirmed and where they’re given opportunities to try and fail,” Smith said. “We don’t want to put any limitations on these kids but try to give them the tools to see how far they can go.”

Chad Prashad, a board member of the Selah Grey Foundation, helped Smith secure a location for the private school at the Grace Church campus at 133 E. Poinsett St. in downtown Greer. He also provided a $520,000 grant to help cover Selah Grey Academy’s first-year expenses. 

Thirty students from across Upstate South Carolina will start school at Selah Grey Academy on Aug. 11.

Inclusive environment

Individualized learning plans will be established for each student attending Selah Grey Academy based on their specific needs. The school will utilize the curriculum standards established by the South Carolina Department of Education. A certified teacher and a teacher assistant will oversee each classroom of 10 students. 
Students at Selah Grey Academy will also have access to on-site therapeutic services, including:

• Speech therapy
• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• ABA therapy
• Music therapy
• Art therapy
• Mental health counseling

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“This takes a huge burden off of the parents,” Prashad said. “You don’t have to leave in the middle of the school day to go to those appointments and then come back. We can provide all of those on-site.”

Selah Grey Academy is expected to expand into a K-12 program for the 2027-28 school year. The school plans to establish a diploma and certificate track for its future high school students. Smith said the goal would be to help the students set themselves up for success after graduation.

Other future plans include setting up student sports programming, creating work-based learning opportunities for high schoolers and establishing a special academy to support parents of students with disabilities.   

For more information, visit selahgreyacademy.com.
To view the original article, visit Greenville Journal.

Utility Partners of America (UPA) hosted the SC811 Legislation Update & Utility Safety Summit on February 11, 2026, at The Vault at Taylors Mill in Taylors, South Carolina. The event brought together more than 100 utility leaders, contractors, municipalities, cooperatives, and industry partners to discuss updates to South Carolina’s 811 laws under HB3571, which takes effect in May 2026.

The summit was free and open to the broader utility community, not limited to UPA customers or partners. UPA organized the event to address a gap in industry awareness of the new legislation. As the regulatory environment has evolved, many organizations working in and around underground infrastructure have lacked a clear, accessible resource to understand what the changes require and how to remain compliant.

“The laws keep changing. Our goal is to help everyone do a better job, not just our customers, but the entire industry.”– Todd Stone, President & Founder, Utility Partners of America

Safety as an Operating Standard
UPA Safety Manager Justin Bratcher opened the program with a safety moment focused on the operational conditions that lead to underground incidents. Bratcher addressed what the data and field experience both confirm: most underground incidents are not caused by crews that didn’t know the rules. They are caused by crews that stopped applying them.
The presentation emphasized stop-work authority, verification over assumption, and the role of leadership in setting safety expectations, not just field teams. Safety performance, Bratcher noted, reflects the standard that organizations actually enforce, not just the standard they document.
UPA has built safety into its core operations across all service lines, from meter installation and electric distribution to private locating and underground infrastructure work. The company’s safety record and operational model reflect 29 years of experience working in and around utility infrastructure across the United States.

The Underground Infrastructure Outlook
Todd Stone addressed the longer-term context for why events like this one matter. An estimated 92% of metropolitan infrastructure in the United States will be underground by 2050, compared to approximately 18% today. Communication, fiber, gas, water, and electric systems are all expanding below grade. As that volume increases, so does the importance of getting locate, response, and excavation procedures right on every job.
UPA’s private locating division provides targeted underground programs, asset documentation, and post-project quality assurance verification. These services directly address the locate accuracy and accountability gaps that contribute to the damage rates South Carolina is currently experiencing.

SC 811 Law Changes
Misty Wise, Director of South Carolina 811, presented the details of HB3571 and the data behind the urgency. Excavator damages in South Carolina rose 35% year-over-year. Enforcement actions increased 113%, from 158 to 302 in a single year. On-time response rates for locate notices declined from 59% to 53.9%, while no-shows increased by approximately 100,000 notices annually.
The new law updates definitions across the board, expanding what qualifies as excavation, broadening the definition of operator to include fiber providers and those serving commercial or multi-family properties, and tightening pre-marking requirements. Emergency locate procedures have also been updated: operators must now respond within 3 hours, and misuse of the emergency designation carries penalties. Large projects, those exceeding 90 days or one mile in length, face new advance notice and pre-construction coordination requirements.

Civil penalties increase to up to $5,000 per violation under the standard structure, with gross negligence violations, including covering damage, destroying locate markers, or willful violations, subject to fines up to $25,000. Complaints must be filed within 45 days of the alleged violation and are investigated by a Complaint Resolution Committee before any escalation to the Attorney General’s Office.
Kareem Boykin, Public Awareness Liaison for SC811, was also on hand to support the presentation and answer attendees’ questions about the practical application of the new requirements.

Sponsor Support
The summit was supported by Axe Workwear, United Rentals, Milwaukee Tool, and American Safety Utility Corporation. Each sponsor contributed to the event and participated directly in the program, reinforcing the value they see in community-focused industry education, particularly in rural and underserved markets where compliance resources are not always readily available.

UPA is proud to support South Carolina’s utility community as it prepares for the changes ahead. The company will continue to seek opportunities to bring the industry together around safety, compliance, and the shared goal of protecting the infrastructure communities depend on.
For more information about UPA’s private locating services, utility infrastructure capabilities, or upcoming industry events, visit utilitypartners.com or contact us directly.

To learn more about SC811 and the new laws taking affect visit sc811.com

Utility Partners of America (UPA), a System One company, was founded in1997 and is a leading provider of Project Management, Construction Management, Operations, Maintenance, and Professional Services. UPA partners with utilities and energy cooperatives throughout the United States to build, inspect, maintain, and upgrade the nation’s utility infrastructure.