Hilton Head PSD and Utilities: Water, Power, Internet

Water and sewer on Hilton Head Island come from one of three public service districts, each created by the South Carolina legislature and each billing its own customers. Which one you use depends on where the property sits, not on a choice: find your Hilton Head water district by address, then call it to open or transfer an account. The Hilton Head Public Service District was formed in 1969 and later took over the Hilton Head Plantation and other small utilities on the north end.

• Hilton Head PSD: north and mid-island, including Hilton Head Plantation. Hilton Head Plantation is its largest community.

• Broad Creek PSD: the middle of the island, including Palmetto Dunes, Shelter Cove, Plantation Center and South Island Square.

• South Island PSD: everything south of Shelter Cove, which includes Sea Pines, Wexford, Shipyard and Long Cove.

A street near a district border can fall on either side. Call the district office or check the service map on its site before you assume. The Hilton Head public service district boundaries do not follow community or zip code lines.

Power is supplied by Palmetto Electric Cooperative, a member-owned co-op that serves the island and the mainland around it, so searches for Palmetto Electric HHI SC land on the co-op’s main site. To start service, apply on its start/stop page: there is a $5 membership fee and a $20 processing fee, plus a deposit that depends on the account (a commercial deposit is based on two months of average bills). Each meter needs its own application, and a new structure needs county permits and inspections first. Applications are reviewed Monday to Friday, 8 to 5. To stop service, use the co-op’s online account or the island office on Mathews Drive.

Power outage on Hilton Head Island? Call the outage line, 1-866-445-5551, or check the Palmetto Electric outage map to see the outage affecting your street and the estimated restoration.

Two providers cover most of the island. Sparklight is the local provider that older residents still call Hargray; Cable One bought Hargray and renamed it, so a search for Hargray Hilton Head or Hargray HHI now ends at Sparklight. Spectrum is the national cable company, with its own store on William Hilton Parkway. Fiber is also available from other providers in some communities, including Hotwire Communications, so ask the property’s association which provider it has wired.

Both stores will set up internet and TV by phone or in person. In a gated community, confirm the line is already run to the house before you book an install, and ask for the final monthly price in writing. Hilton Head internet speed and price depend on the address and the provider, so compare both for the property.

The Town leaves curbside collection to private haulers, and Beaufort County runs the drop-off for the island. For hours, the decal, what the Hilton Head dump takes and who picks up at the curb, see the trash and recycling guide.

For short-term rental owners and property managers: use this list when you buy, take over or furnish a Hilton Head rental. Do it a week ahead; power and internet are the two that cost a booking if they slip.

• Find the water district by address (Hilton Head PSD, Broad Creek PSD or South Island PSD) and call to open the account in the owner’s name.

• Apply for power on Palmetto Electric’s start/stop page: $5 membership, $20 processing, a deposit, and one application per meter. New builds need county inspections first.

• Book internet and TV with Spectrum or Sparklight; confirm the line is run, and ask which plan works for streaming guests.

• Arrange trash: a curbside hauler or the community’s contract, plus a county decal if you will use the convenience center. See trash and recycling.

• Put the numbers in the guest guide: the outage line, 1-866-445-5551, the outage map, and the trash pickup days. A guest who can report an outage themselves saves a call.

• Check the permit: the Town of Hilton Head Island requires a short-term rental permit, separate from utilities.

To hand the whole job to a company that already knows these offices, see property management on Hilton Head.