The utility and setup checklist

Utilities in the Charlotte metro depend on the address more than newcomers expect: the power company changes at the state line, the water company changes at the town line, the trash is municipal in one subdivision and private in the next, and the fiber stops mid-street. This guide is who provides what, by service, with the directory’s providers linked and the lead times that matter. The moving checklist is the timeline; this is the phone list.

Electricity

Duke Energy serves nearly all of the North Carolina side, from Charlotte to Gaston, Cabarrus, Union and Iredell counties, and the South Carolina side around Rock Hill and Fort Mill. The cooperatives fill the edges: York Electric Cooperative serves portions of York, Chester, Lancaster and Cherokee counties in South Carolina, per its listing, which includes Lake Wylie and Clover addresses; Union Power and EnergyUnited serve rural Union and Iredell. Set up online a week ahead; a deposit is common for new customers without a Duke history, and it’s refunded after a year of on-time payments. For the electrician on move-in: Carolina Electric Pro’s, David Alexander Electric, GB Electrical, Hinson Electric, Plug In Electric for the EV charger; the EV guide has that.

Natural gas

Piedmont Natural Gas serves the North Carolina side; York County Natural Gas Authority has served residential, commercial and industrial customers across York County for more than 60 years, per its listing. Many Charlotte houses are all-electric and have no gas line; check before assuming. For the furnace and the water heater: Putnam Mechanical, Charlotte Heating and Air, T.Byrd’s Heating & Cooling, since 1972. Book the HVAC service for the first week; the air conditioner is the system that fails, and it fails in July.

Water and sewer

Charlotte Water serves the city and all six Mecklenburg towns. Each ring town runs its own: Concord, Kannapolis and the Water and Sewer Authority of Cabarrus County; Union County Public Works; Two Rivers Utilities for Gastonia and its neighbors; Mooresville and Davidson their own; Rock Hill, Fort Mill and York County on the South Carolina side. Some subdivisions are on private wells and septic, which changes everything; the home inspection says which. For the plumber: Three Way Plumbing, Superior Plumbing (24/7), Plumber Today. Find the main shutoff the first day.

Trash and recycling

Inside Charlotte and the towns, trash is municipal, on a weekly schedule with a separate recycling and yard-waste day; the city’s app has the calendar. Outside the towns, it’s a private hauler you sign up with: Waste Pro covers south Charlotte and Union County. Bulk pickup is by request. For the move-out and the renovation, Tough Dumpsters delivers next day across seven counties and Scrappy’s Junk World hauls.

Internet, cable and phone

Spectrum cable is nearly everywhere; AT&T fiber where the fiber’s been pulled; Google Fiber in a growing set of Charlotte neighborhoods; and on the South Carolina side, Comporium, which provides video, internet, phone and home security across the region including Zipstream gigabit, per its listing. Check the exact address for fiber before signing a lease; availability is block by block. Order two weeks ahead; installation appointments run out in August when the students arrive. For the office-grade connection, Next Level Communications; the remote work guide has the rest.

Security and the smart home

Comporium SMA is the security and automation arm of Comporium. Sonitrol does commercial and residential monitoring. KS Audio Video and Alpha Technology Solutions install the cameras, the shades, the audio and the control systems. Made in the Shade does smart shades. Change the locks the first day; the locksmiths are in the home services directory.

The yard and the pests

Two Charlotte-specific setups. Pest: the Piedmont has termites, and a service contract is normal; Carolina Pest (since 1939), Action Pest, Economy Exterminators, Queen Bee’s, Tactical Pest. Yard: the lawn is a subscription here, and the tall pines need a look. Weed Man, RDS Lawn and Landscaping, J. Andrews, ManageMowed, and Joshua Tree Experts for the trees. The HOA, if there is one, has rules about all of it; read them before the first weekend.

The mail, the car, the license

Forward the mail online. The North Carolina license and registration have a 60-day clock; South Carolina’s is similar; the DMV needs an appointment and two proofs of address, and the state inspection is part of registration (Tuffy, Henn Automotive). Insurance changes with the state: Gill-Holler, Wil Lawson, Latorre. And a business address that isn’t the house: the UPS Store and PostNet locations rent mailboxes.

What it costs, roughly

A Charlotte household’s utilities run higher in July and August than anywhere else on the calendar; the air conditioner is the bill. Duke’s budget-billing option flattens it. Water is cheap inside the city and dearer in the towns; the ring towns bill sewer with it. Internet at gigabit runs the same as anywhere. And the surprise line for newcomers is the HOA, which in the newer subdivisions covers the trash, the pool and the lawn and can run more than the water and gas together.

Week one, in order

Day one: power, water, gas confirmed on; internet installed or scheduled; locks changed; shutoffs found. Day two: the DMV appointment booked, the trash day confirmed, the HVAC service scheduled. Day three: pest inspection, the bank, the pharmacy transfer. Day four: the doctor and the vet, from the doctor guide. Day five: the library card and the grocery. Days six and seven: the lake and the city, per the first-week guide. A provider we’ve missed or a boundary we’ve got wrong? Utility maps are the most-corrected thing in local publishing; tell us.