§ 159B-11. General powers of joint agencies; prerequisites to undertaking projects. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 159B‑11.  Generalpowers of joint agencies; prerequisites to undertaking projects.

Each joint agency shall have all of the rights and powers necessary orconvenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of thisChapter, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, therights and powers:

(1)        To adopt bylaws for the regulation of the affairs and theconduct of its business, and to prescribe rules, regulations and policies inconnection with the performance of its functions and duties;

(2)        To adopt an official seal and alter the same at pleasure;

(3)        To acquire and maintain an administrative office building oroffice at such place or places as it may determine, which building or officemay be used or owned alone or together with any other joint agency or agencies,joint municipal assistance agency, municipalities, corporations, associationsor persons under such terms and provisions for sharing costs and otherwise asmay be determined;

(4)        To sue and be sued in its own name, and to plead and beimpleaded;

(5)        To receive, administer and comply with the conditions andrequirements respecting any gift, grant or donation of any property or money;

(6)        To acquire by purchase, lease, gift, or otherwise, or toobtain options for the acquisition of, any property, real or personal, improvedor unimproved, including an interest in land less than the fee thereof;

(7)        To sell, lease, exchange, transfer or otherwise dispose of,or to grant options for any such purposes with respect to, any real or personalproperty or interest therein;

(8)        To pledge, assign, mortgage or otherwise grant a securityinterest in any real or personal property or interest therein, including theright and power to pledge, assign or otherwise grant a security interest in anymoney, rents, charges or other revenues and any proceeds derived by the jointagency from the sales of property, insurance or condemnation awards;

(9)        To issue bonds of the joint agency for the purpose ofproviding funds for any of its corporate purposes;

(10)      To study, plan, finance, construct, reconstruct, acquire,improve, enlarge, extend, better, own, operate and maintain one or moreprojects, either individually or jointly with one or more municipalities inthis State or any state contiguous to this State owning electric distributionfacilities or with any political subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities ofany state contiguous to this State or with other joint agencies createdpursuant to this Chapter, and to pay all or any part of the costs thereof fromthe proceeds of bonds of the joint agency or from any other available funds ofthe joint agency; no provisions of law with respect to the acquisition,construction, or operation of property by other public bodies shall beapplicable to any project as defined in this Chapter and as authorized by thissubdivision unless the General Assembly shall specifically so state;

(11)      To authorize the construction, operation or maintenance ofany project or projects by any person, firm, association, or corporation,public or private;

(12)      To acquire by private negotiated purchase or lease orotherwise an existing project, a project under construction, or other property,either individually or jointly, with one or more municipalities or jointagencies in this State or any state contiguous to this State owning electricdistribution facilities or with any political subdivisions, agencies orinstrumentalities of any state contiguous to this State or with other jointagencies created pursuant to this Chapter; to acquire by private negotiatedpurchase or lease or otherwise any facilities for the development, production,manufacture, procurement, handling, storage, fabrication, enrichment,processing or reprocessing of fuel of any kind or any facility or rights withrespect to the supply of water, and to enter into agreements by privatenegotiation or otherwise, for a period not exceeding fifty (50) years, for thedevelopment, production, manufacture, procurement, handling, storage,fabrication, enrichment, processing or reprocessing of fuel of any kind or anyfacility or rights with respect to the supply of water; no provisions of lawwith respect to the acquisition, construction or operation of property by otherpublic bodies shall be applicable to any agency created pursuant to thisChapter unless the legislature shall specifically so state;

(13)      To dispose of by private negotiated sale or lease, orotherwise, an existing project or a project under construction, or to disposeof by private negotiated sale or lease, or otherwise any facilities for thedevelopment, production, manufacture, procurement, handling, storage,fabrication, enrichment, processing or reprocessing of fuel of any kind or anyfacility or rights with respect to the supply of water; no provisions of lawwith respect to the disposition of property by other public bodies shall beapplicable to an agency created pursuant to this Chapter unless the legislatureshall specifically so state;

(14)      To fix, charge and collect rents, rates, fees and charges forelectric power or energy and other services, facilities and commodities sold,furnished or supplied through any project or activity permitted in thisChapter;

(15)      To generate, produce, transmit, deliver, exchange, purchase,sell for resale only, electric power or energy, and to enter into contracts forany or all such purposes;

(16)      To negotiate and enter into contracts for the purchase, salefor resale only, exchange, interchange, wheeling, pooling, transmission or useof electric power and energy with any person, firm, association, orcorporation, public or private;

(17)      To make and execute contracts and other instruments necessaryor convenient in the exercise of the powers and functions of the joint agencyunder this Chapter, including contracts with persons, firms, associations, orcorporations, public or private;

(18)      To apply to the appropriate agencies of the State, the UnitedStates or any state thereof, and to any other proper agency, for such permits,licenses, certificates or approvals as may be necessary, and to construct,maintain and operate projects and undertake other activities permitted in thisChapter in accordance with such licenses, permits, certificates or approvals,and to obtain, hold and use such licenses, permits, certificates and approvalsin the same manner as any other person or operating unit of any other person;

(19)      To employ engineers, architects, attorneys, real estatecounselors, appraisers, financial advisors and such other consultants andemployees as may be required in the judgment of the joint agency and to fix andpay their compensation from funds available to the joint agency therefor and toselect and retain subject to approval of the Local Government Commission thefinancial consultants, underwriters and bond attorneys to be associated withthe issuance of any bonds and to pay for services rendered by underwriters,financial consultants or bond attorneys out of the proceeds of any such issuewith regard to which the services were performed;

(19a)    To purchase power and energy, and services and facilitiesrelating to the utilization of power and energy, from any source on behalf ofits members and other customers and to furnish, sell, lease, exchange,transfer, or otherwise dispose of, or to grant options for any such purposeswith respect to the same, to its members and other customers in such amounts,with such characteristics, for such periods of time and under such terms andconditions as the governing board of the joint agency shall determine;

(19b)    To provide aid and assistance to municipalities, and to actfor or on behalf of any municipality, in any activity related to thedevelopment and implementation of integrated resource planning, including, butnot limited to, the evaluation of resources, generating facilities, alternativeenergy resources, conservation and load management programs, transmission anddistribution facilities, and purchased power options, and related to thedevelopment, construction and operation of supply‑side and demand‑sideresources, and to do such other acts and things as provided in Article 3 ofthis Chapter as if the joint agency were a joint municipal assistance agency,and to carry out the powers granted in this Chapter in relation thereto; toprovide aid and assistance to any joint municipal assistance agency in theexercise of its respective powers and functions; and

(20)      To do all acts and things necessary, convenient or desirableto carry out the purposes, and to exercise the powers granted to the jointagency in this Chapter.

No joint agency shall undertake any project required to be financed, inwhole or in part, with the proceeds of bonds without the approval of a majorityof its members. Before undertaking any project, a joint agency shall, basedupon engineering studies and reports, determine that such project is requiredto provide for the projected needs for power and energy of its members from andafter the date the project is estimated to be placed in normal and continuousoperation and for a reasonable period of time thereafter. Prior to orsimultaneously with granting a certificate of public convenience and necessityfor any such generation project the North Carolina Utilities Commission, in aproceeding instituted pursuant to G.S. 159B‑24 of this Chapter, shallapprove such determination. In determining the future power requirements of themembers of a joint agency, there shall be taken into account the following:

(1)        The economies and efficiencies to be achieved inconstructing on a large scale facilities for the generation of electric powerand energy;

(2)        Needs of the joint agency for reserve and peaking capacityand to meet obligations under pooling and reserve‑sharing agreementsreasonably related to its needs for power and energy to which the joint agencyis or may become a party;

(3)        The estimated useful life of such project;

(4)        The estimated time necessary for the planning, development,acquisition, or construction of such project and the length of time required inadvance to obtain, acquire or construct additional power supply for the membersof the joint agency;

(5)        The reliability and availability of existing alternativepower supply sources and the cost of such existing alternative power supplysources.

A determination by the joint agency approved by the North CarolinaUtilities Commission based upon appropriate findings of the foregoing mattersshall be conclusive as to the appropriateness of a project to provide the needsof the members of a joint agency for power and energy unless a party to theproceeding aggrieved by the determination of said Commission shall file noticeof appeal pursuant to Article 5 of Chapter 62 of the General Statutes of NorthCarolina.

Nothing herein contained shall prevent a joint agency from undertakingstudies to determine whether there is a need for a project or whether suchproject is feasible. (1975, c. 186, s. 1; 1977, c. 385, ss. 6‑10; 1983, c. 574, ss. 4,4.1; 1985, c. 212, s. 1; c. 723, s. 3; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 888, s. 2;1993, c. 182, s. 1; 1995, c. 412, s. 7.)