If you’ve read this column over the past few years, you’ve seen me reference the need for changes at our existing Greenville office. This has been a long-discussed project — one we’ve carefully evaluated, planned and revisited with a focus on what’s best for our members. Now, we’re preparing to take the next step.
In June, crews will begin clearing land Pioneer Electric already owns on Sherling Lake Road near the Robert Trent Jones Cambrian Ridge Golf Course.
The project will include clearing and grading the site, along with installing drainage and underground utilities in preparation for possible future expansion.
Let me be clear: we are not relocating our office. For now, we are only completing the land clearing and will reevaluate before proceeding with any construction.
This need for change is driven by two priorities: safety and reliability.
Our current location in downtown Greenville creates safety concerns for our members and employees. Office staff must cross a busy intersection between their parking area and the building.
Safety concerns also come from navigating large trucks and equipment through narrow downtown streets and a challenging underpass.
Reliability is equally important. Our current location has limited space to stage crews, organize materials and coordinate outage response efforts, especially during major outages.
Our long-term plan includes constructing an operations center on our Sherling Lake Road property. Relocating the warehouse and operations department would create a safer, more convenient parking arrangement for employees at our existing office. This facility would include a warehouse, pole yard and crew staging area. The new location would allow space for a facility better suited for the work we do.
If we decide to proceed with building an operations center, the Greenville office will remain at its current location. The employees who serve you in member services, engineering, IT and administration will continue working from the same Greenville location. This project is specifically about relocating our warehouse and operations crews.
We understand the importance of managing costs. Every decision we make is carefully weighed against its cost and the benefit it delivers to our members. According to our 2025 rate study, this project can be completed without impacting member rates. Any future rate adjustments will be driven by the rising cost of generating and delivering power — not by this project.
This is a long-term investment in the future of Pioneer Electric, designed to support our system for decades to come while improving safety for our employees and reliability for our members.