Santee Cooper values the privacy of its customers, employees, and prospective employees. We strictly adhere to all regulatory requirements with regard to privacy, and our employees are educated on the importance of privacy and confidentiality. The purpose of this privacy policy is to inform you as to what information we collect from you, voluntarily and involuntarily, and what steps you may take to prevent divulging such information should you wish to do so. Please check this policy frequently, as we may amend it from time to time to reflect changes in our services and our policies. Amendments will become effective at the time they are posted on our website.
WHAT DO WE COLLECT AND WHY DO WE DO IT?
Santee Cooper wants you to be aware of what we do collect from you and what we do not. The following sections explain what we collect from you without notice and what we collect with your consent as well as why we need the information. Please see the “Contact Us” section of this policy if you have any questions regarding our collection of data.
INVOLUNTARY
To help improve your browsing experience, Santee Cooper utilizes web server logs that capture your IP address, browser type, and the pages on our site that you visit. This is a common practice on the web today, and is done solely so our webmaster(s) can improve our site, and make it more accessible to you. The IP addresses provide no identifiable information about you, and are not used to attempt to track individual persons. The logs are kept and used ONLY for INTERNAL statistical purposes such as page popularity.
VOLUNTARY
At some point in your browsing experience, you may choose to register for a particular service online, such as electronic billing (eBilling). In order to process your registration request, Santee Cooper, or a third party agency acting through Santee Cooper, will request personal information, such as your name, address, phone, bank account and e mail. This information is collected so you can participate in the service, and Santee Cooper will request no unnecessary information. We may use the information you provide to improve our services. Customers are free to inquire as to the need for the information at any point during the process. Santee Cooper is a state entity and is subject to the state Freedom of Information Act.
We may email you from time to time concerning either billing or service issues. However, Santee Cooper will not disclose your email address to any other parties unless it is for billing or service purposes.
ACCESS TO INFORMATION
If you do choose to sign up for online services, you will be able to modify and review your personal information at any time online. This will allow you to update or correct any information you give us should the need arise. If you are unable to modify your personal information, and a change needs to be made, you can contact us to obtain assistance in correcting errors.
WHO DO WE TELL?
Santee Cooper does not sell or disclose any personally identifiable information to any third party unless it is necessary to provide you with a requested service or as may be required by law. For example, in the case of ebilling, we provide our third-party vendor with your personal information so they are able to process your electronic bill. Only under these types of circumstances, where the sharing is absolutely essential to provide you with a requested service, will Santee Cooper release any personally identifiable information. Santee Cooper does, however, reserve the right to target and market services based on user profiles.
Santee Cooper reserves the right to share aggregate (statistical) information with third parties, provided the information contains no reference to any personally identifiable information.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PREVENT IT?
If you wish, you may keep Santee Cooper from collecting personally identifiable information about you by simply not giving it when requested to do so. However, it is important to note that by opting out of such requests, you may keep Santee Cooper from being able to provide you with some of the advanced features that we offer, such as electronic billing.
Should you also wish to prevent Santee Cooper from collecting your IP address and other involuntary information as described above, you may simply discontinue your use of the site at any time.
SECURITY
The Internet is a rapidly growing and widely used method of communication across the globe. Unfortunately, the Internet is not immune to abuse and illegal use by persons. Because of this, Santee Cooper cannot guarantee with 100% confidence that an unauthorized person will NEVER see the information you provide. However, Santee Cooper makes every effort to ensure the protection of the information you provide against loss, misuse, or alteration. We use the latest available technology, including firewalls and Secure Sockets Layers (SSL) and 128bit encryption technology to protect information you transmit online. In the case of some online services such as eBilling, your personal account is protected by your own User ID and password. To ensure optimum security of your account, Santee Cooper encourages you not to share your password or User ID with anyone. Santee Cooper employs a staff of highly trained professionals who work to make sure that every reasonable precautionary measure is taken to ensure security. As mentioned above, Santee Cooper educates its employees on the importance of privacy and confidentiality. Disciplinary action will be taken if any employee violates these standards of privacy and attempts to access information which he or she has no legitimate purpose viewing.
ENFORCEMENT
If you feel that this policy is not being enforced or applied properly, please see the “Contact Us” section of this document.
CONTACT US
You may contact us with any questions or concerns at the following addresses and phone number:
Mailing: Santee Cooper Power
1 Riverwood Drive
Moncks Corner, SC 29461
Phone: (843) 761-8000
Email: webmaster@santeecooper.com