Fort Mill grants Duke Energy perpetual easement for substation reliability upgrades

The Fort Mill Town Council approved a resolution authorizing a perpetual, nonexclusive easement to Duke Energy Carolinas on town property identified as York County tax map number 0200123013 to allow installation and maintenance of electric and communications facilities.

Town Manager Carrie Vargo described the request as part of Duke Energy’s work to add redundancy to a substation behind 123 North White Street (the former Pike Building). The easement grants Duke a 20-foot-wide corridor with an additional 10-foot-wide buffer around the transformer and vault areas for construction, operation, repair and replacement of utility infrastructure. The council was told the consideration for the easement is $1 and Duke is responsible for all other costs.

Council members asked questions about tree removal, property-owner notifications and project timing. Staff said the easement area is largely scrub vegetation and that Duke had notified affected property owners, specifically those at 210 and 212 Fale Street. Staff said the overhead connection from Fale Street to the substation would be quick—“under a week”—and that some underground infrastructure adjacent to the substation will remain.

Council members also discussed that while underground lines can look nicer, they can be more time-consuming and costly to repair. Staff described the work as a reliability improvement affecting roughly 1,100 residential properties served by the substation; if the circuit fails, outages would affect those homes. The town attorney reviewed the documentation, according to staff.

A motion to approve the resolution was made and approved by voice vote; the transcript records verbal “ayes” and no roll-call tally.