S.C. Code § 58-27-430
Any electrical utility operating under an existing permit or franchise heretofore granted by the State or any municipality thereof prescribing a definite period of years for the existence of such permit or franchise shall, upon (a) filing with the commission and providing to the Office of Regulatory Staff a written declaration that it surrenders such permit or franchise, (b) the consent of such municipality, and (c) proof of any consent that may be required by Article VIII, Section 15 of the Constitution of this State, receive an indeterminate permit which shall take the place of the surrendered permit or franchise, and such electrical utility or its successors or assigns shall hold such permit in accordance with the terms, conditions, and limitations of this chapter and any future regulatory acts. If, for any reason, any indeterminate permit held by a public utility is held to be invalid, the public utility shall, by operation of law and without further act, have reinstated in it any franchise or franchises surrendered by it in exchange for such indeterminate permit.
S.C. Code § 58-27-430