They are Taxes in Disguise. The City under the law has the right to charge fees to the utility companies for the use of its streets and right of ways, and as the right to do business in this city. They come to an agreement on what the utility should pay, and then they go ahead and allow the utility to collect it from us. This fee appears on your bill. They go to support the services that the city offers.
Examples are electricity, telephone, cable television, and solid waste.
The 'Charges to Utilities' portion of the definition indicates that it is supposed to come from the utility not you. It says nothing about the charges to its citizens for the use of the services. Examine your utility bill and compare it to the examples that are provided in this article. The Utility is really not paying this fee, instead you are. If it was truly a Franchise Fee to be charged to the Utility, it would have not appeared on your bill.