Gov. Mark Sanford needs to come clean about his actions and intentions regarding Santee Cooper, the state-owned power generator that supplies Palmetto Electric Cooperative locally and 40 percent of the state's population from the mountains to the sea.

It should not take a Freedom of Information request from Charleston's Post and Courier newspaper for the public to piece together official activity.

It took an FOI request to see the state's contract with an investment bank that, among other things, is studying the potential sale of Santee Cooper.

The governor publicly denies that he wants to sell the utility, which could not be done without approval of the General Assembly. Sanford has repeatedly said that what he's after is a larger return to the state general fund from Santee Cooper than the traditional 1 percent of annual operating revenue.

But that's not the whole story. Conflicting information has come from the governor's office about the analysis of the utility. The governor's spokesman recently said the governor's office had nothing to do with the study, saying it was proposed by the utility's board chairman.

Now we find out that firms bidding for the contract were interviewed by the board chairman, who was appointed by the governor; the governor's wife, Jenny; and an adviser to the governor.

The governor's office did indeed have a great deal of involvement in the study.

Meanwhile, one Santee Cooper director says he can only guess at the intent of the study. But director Pat Allen noted, "The fact is, you don't pick a Wall Street firm that specializes in (public offerings of stock) to look at the efficiencies of an electric utility."

Sanford owes the public a detailed explanation.

What is going on?

It has been clear from the beginning that Sanford wants more input on decisions at Santee Cooper. He has replaced board chairmen, which the courts have ruled he has the right to do. But he also chided the utility for doing what many firms do: Entertain economic development prospects at the MCI Heritage golf tournament on Hilton Head Island.

It is easy to see why the state's 20 electric cooperatives, which depend on low-cost power from Santee Cooper, want more stability in the public utility's oversight and management than Sanford and his predecessor, Jim Hodges, are enabling. The cooperatives strongly supported a bill that easily passed in the state Senate this week with floor leadership from Sen. Scott Richardson of Hilton Head and support from Sen. Clementa Pinckney of Ridgeland.

The cooperatives want the governor to be able to remove Santee Cooper board members only for cause, not for political or personal reasons. They also want four of the 11 board seats to be held by someone with cooperative experience, rather than one, because 60 percent of Santee Cooper's power load and 52 percent of its revenue come from cooperatives.

Three public hearings were held on the Senate bill, which gave people, including the governor, a chance to speak to the legislation and related issues.

Conventional wisdom is that if Santee Cooper, which is owned by the citizens, were to pay more to the state general fund, it would come from consumers. And if the utility were sold to a private entity that pays dividends to stockholders, the consumer rates would rise.

These issues need full public exposure and discussion. And so do the governor's actions and intentions -- including those stated publicly and those it takes an FOI request to discover.