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Atlantic Beach council approves franchise amendment with Santee Cooper to fund undergrounding of power lines
Summary
Council approved Ordinance No. 7-2025 on second reading, renewing the franchise with the South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper) and allocating 40% of franchise-fee revenue toward matching costs to bury utility lines; the ordinance passed unanimously.
Atlantic Beach’s Town Council unanimously approved Ordinance No. 7-2025 on second reading, renewing the town’s franchise with the South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper) and adding a provision to dedicate a portion of franchise-fee revenue to underground electric lines.
Town Manager Linda Cheatham told the council the amendment restores a practice from earlier franchise agreements and specifies that 40% of the franchise-fee revenues will be matched with Santee Cooper to fund burying utilities. Mayor Pro Tem John David clarified that Santee Cooper collects a five percent charge from customers, passes that to the town, and the town will earmark 40% of the funds for an undergrounding match with Santee Cooper.
During public comment resident Mr. Vaughn asked what burying lines would cost. Council members said Santee Cooper’s estimated cost to bury power lines on Ocean Boulevard is about $2.9 million; Cheatham added that the $2.9 million figure covers Santee Cooper’s work only and does not include costs for other communications providers that also have overhead lines. Council members said the town expects to collect "20‑something thousand" a year from the franchise fee and would put 40% of those receipts toward a matching fund while seeking grants or other funding for larger projects.
Councilman Edward Campbell moved to approve the second reading and Councilwoman Carla Taylor seconded. A roll-call vote recorded all members present voting in favor.
The ordinance renews the franchise relationship between Atlantic Beach and the South Carolina Public Service Authority and creates a funding mechanism the council said it hopes will allow targeted undergrounding projects over time, starting with high‑priority corridors such as Ocean Boulevard and 30th Avenue.
Next steps described by council included executing the franchise amendment and continuing to pursue matching grants or additional funding sources before undertaking an actual undergrounding project.
