The owner or occupant of a dwelling unit or commercial establishment on improved property that shall be deemed located in whole or in part in the State of North Carolina as a result of the boundary certification described in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 141-9 may continue to receive utility services from the South Carolina utility or its successor that is providing service to the dwelling unit or commercial establishment on January 1, 2017. However, the owner or occupant may, within his or her discretion, elect to have one or more of the utility services being provided to the property by a South Carolina utility on January 1, 2017, be provided by a North Carolina utility as long as the property is located within the North Carolina utility’s service area. A North Carolina utility that is a city or county may require the owner of the property to pay a periodic availability fee authorized by law only if the owner elects to have utility service provided to the dwelling unit or commercial establishment by the North Carolina utility. A South Carolina utility that provides service to the property as authorized in this section is not a public utility under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 62-3(23), and is not subject to regulation by the North Carolina Utilities Commission as it relates to providing the particular utility service involved. For purposes of this section only, the term “South Carolina utility” has the same meaning as the term “utility” or “utilities” in the Code of Laws of South Carolina, and the term “North Carolina utility” has the same meaning as the term “public utility” which is defined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 62-3(23), and also includes a city or county that provides any of the services listed in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160A-311 or N.C. Gen. Stat. § 153A-274, an authority organized under the North Carolina Water and Sewer Authorities Act, or an electric or telephone membership corporation. (2016-23, s. 11(a).)