# City of Charleston Special City Council Meeting 10/26/26


**Body:** City of Charleston SC
**Date:** October 25, 2026
**Jurisdiction:** SLED

**Tags:** Energy & Utilities, Construction & Infrastructure, Physical Infrastructure


At a special meeting on October 26, 2026, Charleston City Council discussed a proposed new electric utility franchise agreement with Dominion and a parallel agreement with Berkeley Electric Cooperative, focused on utility service in city rights-of-way and funding undergrounding projects. The proposed term is 20 years with a 10-year renewal option, compared with the prior agreement’s 30-year term plus a 10-year extension. The agreements would retain a 5% franchise fee; the city said franchise-fee revenue is about $15 million annually and generally goes to the general fund. The proposed non-standard service fund would add a 0.5% contribution from the city and a matching 0.5% from Dominion, with an estimated $60 million generated over the first 20 years, in addition to existing funds set aside for undergrounding. Speakers cited differing estimates of the existing balance, roughly $11.5 million to $12.5 million.

Discussion covered project coordination and notice requirements, a six-month deadline for obtaining required easements before a project drops to the bottom of the queue and must reapply, and a cap of two projects in design at a time. Council members raised concerns about the pace and cost of undergrounding, easement acquisition, and the effect of utility costs on affordability; Dominion described separate energy-efficiency and customer-assistance programs. No vote or formal spending action was recorded, and the transcript does not show Council adopting the agreements. Members and utility representatives discussed follow-up information on affordability resources and project coordination.

**Source:** City of Charleston SC