COLUMBIA, S.C. - A Senate panel wants to know whether business and residential customers of Santee Cooper are satisfied with the state-owned utility or would like to see some changes.

A subcommittee said Thursday it would hold public hearings in Horry, Georgetown and Berkeley counties to see how the utility should operate and be governed.

A couple of bills in the state Legislature would limit Gov. Mark Sanford's influence over the utility's board. Sanford fired former board chairman Graham Edwards in the fall, which sparked criticism from several legislators.

Now lawmakers are considering proposals to change how the board is chosen and strip the governor's power to remove members without cause.

The subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Luke Rankin, is considering five bills, including one that would require related experience for board members and a screening committee.

Rankin, R-Myrtle Beach, also said talk of selling the utility has come up repeatedly in the past few years. The panel wants to hear what customers think.

"The perception is that some would either like to privatize it or sell it outright," Rankin said.

"I think we'll find that Santee Cooper generally provides an outstanding service to the state," said Sen. Dick Elliott, D-North Myrtle Beach.

Because it is a public utility, Santee Cooper is able to sell power at rates less than those of for-profit companies.

Rankin said some think the utility is a tax-supported agency, but that is not the case. It sends 1 percent of its revenue each year to the state general fund and has never received tax support.

When Sanford wanted the agency to prove more money to the state two years ago, Rankin and Elliott tried to block the transfers, saying the money belongs to ratepayers.

Rankin said the subcommittee will look into attempts to require Santee Cooper to provide more money for the state. Santee Cooper also sells to the state's electric co-ops, which make up 60 percent of the utility's business.

Rankin, Elliott and Bill Mescher, R-Pinopolis, have been among the harshest critics of the board chairman's removal.

"The theme of this is to take politics out of this business" and have the utility operate like a private company, Rankin said.

One measure would give a customer the right to file a complaint that a board member violated fiduciary duty, similar to rules for stockholders in publicly held companies.