COLUMBIA - Graham Edwards was removed from his post as chairman of Santee Cooper's Board of Directors on Friday through Executive Order 2004-33 from Gov. Mark Sanford.

Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Myrtle Beach, criticized the move, which he said could affect the electric rates paid in Horry and Georgetown counties.

Edwards has been the central figure in Santee Cooper's ongoing battle with state officials over the appropriations of money to the state Treasury. Despite requests from state officials, including Sanford, Santee Cooper decided in October it would not give the state any more than the $13.5 million it has already pledged.

Sanford's press secretary, Will Folks, said the governor met with Edwards on Wednesday and told him of the pending dismissal. Sanford appointed Guerry Green, a Pawleys Island resident, to head the board on an interim basis. Both Edwards and Green were unavailable for comment Friday night.

The state-owned utility, which serves Horry, Georgetown and Berkeley counties, gives the state 1 percent of its revenues each year, usually about $11 million.

But Sanford had pushed Santee Cooper's Board of Directors to allocate more money to the state, including the profits from the sale of 33 parcels of property throughout the region.

"It's not about any one person or any one personality," Folks said. "It's about a board that has an amazing degree of institutional knowledge, but from time to time it has been hesitant to consider change. ... We happen to believe that there are some deficiencies."

Folks released a letter from Sanford to Edwards in which the governor questioned the recent actions of Santee Cooper's board.

"As we have discussed, getting board dynamics right is very important in the functioning of a board, and as we both know, through no particular fault of your own or anyone else's on the board, the dynamics just haven't worked on that board," Sanford wrote.

The move came as a surprise to Rankin. He said that Edwards' removal, as well Sanford's other recent moves toward Santee Cooper, could harm ratepayers throughout the Grand Strand.

Rankin pushed for legislation earlier this year that would limit any extra funds that Santee Cooper could pay to the state.

"What is at issue is a sudden change of a chairman," he said. "It calls into question the effect on the customer and their rates. ... I wanted to try to block the board's decision to give excess money because I did not want it to affect the stable price of electricity here.

"I think [ratepayers] should have a heightened awareness of what's happening at Santee Cooper, and watch closely and have their voices heard over the next short while."