Utility capacity and tap fees: confirm before you design

A parcel can be perfectly zoned, well located, and still undevelopable this year because the utility cannot serve it.

What to confirm, in writing

• **Sewer capacity and the point of connection.** Availability at the main is not the same as capacity in the basin.
• **Water service size and fire flow.** Fire flow deficiencies force tanks, pumps, or main extensions.
• **Electrical service capacity and lead time.** Transformer and switchgear lead times have been long enough to control project schedules.
• **Tap, impact, and capacity fees.** These are real money and frequently omitted from early budgets.
• **Extension cost and who pays.** Offsite improvements are often the developer's cost.

How to get it

Written availability letters from each provider, obtained during due diligence. A phone call is not diligence — the answer that matters is the one on letterhead with conditions attached.

The schedule effect

Utility extension design, easement acquisition, and construction can run months and often require agreements with the provider before permits will issue. When it becomes the critical path — and it often does — everything else waits.

Local note

In the Charleston region, service can cross multiple providers and jurisdictions on the same parcel. Confirm who serves the property, not who serves the neighborhood.