Upon the effective date of the amendments to § 1-1-10, which are effective January 1, 2017, the clarified North Carolina-South Carolina boundary property located in whole or in part in North Carolina immediately prior to that date and receiving utility service from a North Carolina utility as defined under North Carolina law, may continue to receive utility service from that utility or its successors although the property is determined to be located in whole or in part in South Carolina as a result of the boundary clarification. The owners of that property have the option of requesting utility service by a similar South Carolina utility if the property is located within that utility’s service area, regardless of whether the property is inside or outside a municipality. For purposes of this section only, the term "utility" shall encompass the same utilities that are covered by one or more of the various definitions for utilities and utility providers used elsewhere in the general law of this State including, but not limited to, systems owned or operated by or on behalf of a municipality or county; municipal systems as authorized in Chapter 31 of Title 5; "public utility" as defined in § 58-3-5; "telephone cooperative" as defined in § 33-46-20; "cooperative" as used in Chapter 36 of Title 33; "corporations not for profit" as used in Chapter 49 of Title 33; "special purpose" and "public service districts" as authorized in Chapter 11 of Title 6; "rural community water districts" as authorized in Chapter 13 of Title 6; "joint municipal water systems" as authorized in Chapter 25 of Title 6; "joint agency" as authorized in Chapter 24 of Title 6; "natural gas authorities" created by act of the General Assembly, or are otherwise similar to utilities defined under North Carolina law.