On Wednesday, March 4th, 2026, the General Assembly of South Carolina met to elect Commissioners to the South Carolina Public Service Commission, with four seats qualified for elections in Districts 1, 3, 5, and 7.
Eugene Hennelly was elected as Commissioner for District 1 (Coastal area, including Beaufort, Berkeley, and parts of Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, and Jasper counties), replacing Commissioner Carolyn “Carolee” Williams. Bjorn J. Brooks and Stephen “Mike” Caston were nominated for District 3 (Western SC, including all of Abbeville, Anderson, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Oconee, Pickens, and Saluda, and parts of Greenville and Newberry). Commissioner, with Commissioner Caston re-elected. Commissioner Headen Thomas and Swain Whitfield were nominated for District 5 (Northern SC, including all of Cherokee, Chester, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lee, Union, and York, and parts of Newberry, Spartanburg, and Sumter) with Swain Whitfield elected to serve as Commissioner. Commissioner Whitfield previously served as Public Service Commissioner from 2008-2020. Chairman Delton Powers was reelected to serve as Commissioner for District 7 (Pee Dee region, including Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, and Marlboro, and most of Florence.) Commissioner Whitfield, Commissioner Caston, and Chairman Powers were sworn in on March 5th, 2026, and Commissioner Elect Hennelly will be sworn in at a later date in March.
The Commission would like to extend our earnest thanks to outgoing Commissioners Carolee L. Williams and Headen B. Thomas, who have served the State of South Carolina with integrity and dedication during their tenures at the Public Service Commission.
The Commission looks forward to welcoming Commissioner Elect Hennelly and Commissioner Whitfield and congratulates them on their election to the PSC. Commissioner Elect Hennelly and Commissioner Whitfield will join current Chair Delton Powers, Vice Chair Justin Williams, and Commissioners Florence Belser, H. David Britt, and Mike Caston.
Footage of the elections can be found scstatehouse.gov. For more information, please contact the Commission at 803.896.5100 or at contact@psc.sc.gov.
