This paper presents a simple and effective new numerical scheme for the computation of electrostatic fields exterior to a collection of close-to-touching discs. The method is presented in detail for the two-disc case. The key idea is to represent the required complex potential using a hybrid set of basis functions comprising the usual Fourier–Laurent expansion about each circle centre complemented by a subsidiary expansion in a variable associated with conformal mapping of the physical domain to a concentric annulus domain. We also rigorously prove that there is a representation of the solution in the hybrid basis with a faster decay rate of coefficients than is obtained by using a nonhybrid basis, thereby providing a rationalization for the success of the method. The numerical scheme is easy to implement and adaptable to the case of multiple close-to-touching cylinders.