Code of Alabama
Chapter 50A - Municipal Electric Authority.
Section 11-50A-8 - Powers of the Authority.

In addition to other powers granted the authority by this chapter, it shall have all powers consistent with the purposes of the authority as set forth in Section 11-50A-3, which are necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this chapter, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the following enumerated powers, which shall be exercised by the authority consistently with the provisions of Section 11-50A-3:
(1) To sue and be sued and to prosecute and defend in any court having jurisdiction of the subject matter and of the parties thereto;
(2) To adopt and alter a corporate seal;
(3) To make and alter at pleasure all needful bylaws, rules, and regulations for the transaction of its business and the control of its property and affairs;
(4) To have the same right of eminent domain through condemnation conferred by Section 10-5-1, or any subsequent statute of similar import; provided that nothing herein shall be construed to grant to the authority the power to acquire by condemnation any real or personal property or right-of-way of any utility as the term "utility" is defined in Section 37-4-1(7)a.;
(5) To acquire in its own name by purchase on such terms and conditions and in such manner as it may deem proper, or by exercise of the power of eminent domain, or by gift, grant, lease, or otherwise, real property or rights and easements therein and franchises and personal property necessary or convenient for its corporate purposes; and to insure its property against any and all risks with insurance which may, from time to time, be available; and to use its property and rent or lease the same to or from others, or make contracts with respect to the use thereof; or to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of any of its property in any manner it deems to the best advantage of the authority and the purposes thereof. The powers to acquire, use, and dispose of property contained in this section shall include the power to acquire, use, and dispose of any interest in any property, whether divided or undivided, which may result in the ownership of any property or any part thereof in common with any other party or parties, public or private. With respect to any property held jointly with others, the parties may provide, by deed or contract, for the waiver of the right of partition and sale for partition or division, which such waivers, if given, shall be binding on all successors and assigns of the joint owners of such property. In any acquisition of real or personal property by the authority in common with any other party, public or private, either of the joint owners shall have an option to purchase the interest of any of the other joint owners upon determination by such other joint owner, its successors or assigns, to sell its interest in such jointly owned property, at a price to be mutually agreed to by the joint owners as set forth in a contract between the joint owners relating to such jointly owned property. The authority shall be under no obligation to accept and pay for any property condemned under this chapter except from the funds provided under the authority of this chapter. If the authority shall deem it expedient to construct any project on lands which are subject to the control of the state or of any political subdivision, board, or any public corporation existing in the state, the Governor, in the case of the state, or the governing authorities of any political subdivisions, boards, or public corporations are hereby authorized to convey any lands to the authority for a consideration, not exceeding reasonable value, which may be agreed upon by the authority, as grantee, and by the Governor or by the governing body of any political subdivision, board, or public corporation, as grantor, taking into consideration the public benefit to be derived from the conveyance;
(6) To appoint and select officers and employees, and to fix their compensation, and to appoint and select engineering, architectural, and construction experts, fiscal agents, and attorneys. The authority may retain, employ, engage, and dismiss all necessary staff and personnel, including professional and technical supervisors, assistants, and experts and other agents and employees, temporary or permanent, as it may require;
(7) To require that each officer or employee of the authority handling money or exercising control over property of the authority before entering upon the discharge of his duties, give bond with some surety company authorized to do business in the state as surety and payable to the authority, to be approved by the authority, in such penalty as the authority may prescribe, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office or employment and faithfully to account for all moneys received or property coming into his possession in the capacity of his employment;
(8) To plan, develop, acquire, by purchase or otherwise, in whole or in part, as provided in subdivision (5) of this section, and to construct and place into operation and operate or cause to be constructed and placed into operation and operated, and to reconstruct, improve, equip, alter, repair, and extend projects, within or without the state, either as sole or joint owner of all or of any part in common with one or more persons or as agent; to provide, by sale or otherwise, an adequate, dependable, and economical supply of bulk electric power and energy to municipalities contracting with the authority pursuant to Section 11-50A-17; and, incidental to the provision of bulk electric power and energy to such municipalities, to enter into contracts for long or short-term interconnection, interchange, exchange, pooling, wheeling, transmission, purchase, or sale of bulk electric power and energy and other similar arrangements with other electric suppliers having generation and transmission capabilities, including, without limitation, the United States of America (including the southeastern power administration) and electric utility systems or electric cooperatives either privately or publicly owned, within or without the state; provided that such arrangements may include agreements with respect to resale rates and the disposition of receipts and provided further that such arrangements shall not be entered into with political subdivisions or public corporations of the state other than municipalities. The authority shall also have the power, which may be exercised either as principal or agent, to manufacture, generate, store, and transmit electricity for light, heat, power, and energy; to purchase power at retail or wholesale from any other person; to purchase or construct part of projects sponsored and owned by or in common with one or more persons, and to transmit power both for itself and on behalf of any person; to erect, buy, sell, lease, or otherwise acquire, maintain, and operate or cause to be maintained and operated plants, underground subways, conduits, poles, and wires above, upon, and under the streets, alleys, lands, and territories of political subdivisions (all in compliance with Article XII, Sections 220 and 228, Constitution of Alabama of 1901), public or private corporations, or individuals; and to sell bulk electric power and energy to municipalities which are authorized to contract with the authority pursuant to Section 11-50A-17;
(9) To contract with those municipalities which are authorized to contract with the authority pursuant to Section 11-50A-17, and with any person within or outside the state;
(10) To exercise any one or more of the powers, rights, and privileges conferred in this chapter either alone or jointly or in common with one or more persons. In any exercise of its powers, rights, and privileges jointly or in common with one or more persons with respect to the ownership, construction, operation, and maintenance of electric generation, transmission, or distribution facilities, the authority may own an undivided interest in those facilities with any other person, with or without waiver of the right of partition and sale for partition or division as may be provided in a deed or contract relating to such jointly-owned facility. The authority may enter into an agreement or agreements with respect to any electric generation, transmission, or distribution facility with any person participating therein, and any agreement may contain such terms, conditions, and provisions consistent with the provisions of this chapter as the parties thereto shall deem to be in their best interests. Any such agreement may include, but need not be limited to, provisions for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the electric generation, transmission, or distribution facility by any one or more of the parties to the agreement which shall be designated in or pursuant to the agreement as agent or agents on behalf of itself and one or more of the other parties thereto or by any other means which may be determined by the parties thereto, and may include provisions for a method or methods of determining and allocating, among or between the parties, costs of construction, operation, maintenance, renewals, replacements, improvements, and disposals with respect to the facility and the entitlement of the joint owners to the production capability or utilization of the facilities under normal and emergency situations and in the event of default on the part of one or more joint owners in the payment of costs as provided in the agreement. Any such agreement shall supersede any provision of law to the contrary relating to the rights of joint owners of property and relating to the use of property, title to which is held by the authority jointly with others. Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law to the contrary, pursuant to the terms of any agreement authorized in this subdivision, the authority may delegate any and all of its powers and duties with respect to the construction, operation, maintenance, renewal, replacement, improvement, or disposal of electric generation, transmission, or distribution facilities to the party or parties acting as agent; and all actions taken by the agent in accordance with the provisions of the agreement may be made binding upon the authority without further action or approval by the authority;
(11) To accept, receive, and administer gifts, grants, appropriations, and donations of money, materials, and property of any kind, including loans and grants from the United States of America or the state or any agency, department, authority, or instrumentality of either, upon such terms and conditions as the United States of America, the state, or any agency, department, authority, or instrumentality shall impose, and to administer trusts, and to sell, lease, transfer, convey, appropriate, and pledge any and all of its property;
(12) Subject to any agreement with the holders of bonds, bond anticipation notes, or notes, to invest moneys of the authority not required for immediate use, including proceeds from the sale of any bonds, bond anticipation notes, or notes and any accumulation of its funds and any sinking funds or reserves, in such obligations, securities and other investments as the authority shall deem prudent, and to purchase its own bonds, bond anticipation notes, and notes;
(13) To do any and all things necessary or proper for the accomplishment of the purposes of this chapter and any amendments hereto; and to exercise any power usually possessed by private corporations performing similar functions which is not in conflict with the Constitution and laws of the state, including employment of professional and administrative staff and personnel and retaining of legal, engineering, fiscal agency, and other professional services, the purchasing of all kinds of insurance including, without limitation, insurance against tort liability and against risks of damage to property, and including the power to borrow money for any of the purposes of the authority; provided, however, that obligations of the authority other than bonds, bond anticipation notes, and notes, for which provision is made in this chapter, may be made payable from the general funds of the authority and shall not be a charge against any special fund allocated to the payment of bonds, bond anticipation notes, or notes; and including the power to indemnify and hold harmless any parties contracting with the authority or its agents from damage to persons or property and the power to act as self-insurer with respect to any loss or liability;
(14) To issue and sell (on sealed bid at public sale, except that with respect to a particular issue of bonds proposed to be issued by the authority, if sale of the bonds on sealed bid at public sale is not in the opinion of the Director of Finance of the State of Alabama in the best interest of the authority under then prevailing market conditions, in which case, and in which case only, the proposed particular issue of bonds may be sold at private sale with the approval of the Director of Finance of the state) bonds, payable from the revenues of any of the projects of the authority and other available funds of the authority as designated in the bond resolution, trust agreement, or indenture pertaining to the bonds for the purpose of paying the costs of any project or for any of the authority's corporate purposes; to execute trust agreements or indentures; to sell, convey, pledge, and assign any and all of its funds, property, and income as security for the payment of bonds, and to provide for the payment of bonds and for the rights of the holders thereof.