§ 3-24-14 — Additional powers conferred on municipalities

In addition to any other powers which it may now have, a municipality which owns a municipal electric distribution system on July 1, 1979: A. shall have the power to acquire, own, lease, encumber and dispose of a generating facility and shall have the power to contract with respect to the operation, maintenance and management of such facility; B. shall have the power to acquire, own, lease, encumber and dispose of any undivided or other interest, including without limitation any right to entitlement or capacity, in a jointly owned generating facility with one or more joint participants and shall have the power to participate in the operation, maintenance and management of such facility or contract with respect to the operation, maintenance and management of such facility; C. may issue revenue bonds in the manner provided in Sections 3-31-1 through 3- 31-6 and 3-31-8 through 3-31-12 NMSA 1978, as amended from time to time, either as generating facility revenue bonds, jointly owned generating facility revenue bonds, electric utility revenue bonds or joint utility revenue bonds for the purpose of: (1) financing the cost of acquiring, extending, enlarging, bettering, repairing or otherwise improving any generating facility or facilities, or any combination of the foregoing purposes; (2) financing its share of the cost of acquiring, extending, enlarging, bettering, repairing or otherwise improving any jointly owned generating facility or facilities either individually or jointly, or any combination of the foregoing purposes; and (3) refinancing, paying and discharging all or any part of any revenue bonds previously issued pursuant to Paragraphs (1) or (2) of Subsection C of this section; D. may issue such revenue bonds as special obligations and may pledge irrevocably: (1) any or all of the net revenues derived from one or more of its generating facilities in the case of generating facility revenue bonds; (2) any or all of the net revenues derived from its interest in one or more jointly owned generating facilities in the case of jointly owned generating facility revenue bonds; (3) any or all of the net revenues of its electric utility, which utility shall include the municipality's generating facility or facilities or its interest in the jointly owned generating facility or facilities being financed by such bonds, in the case of electric utility revenue bonds; and (4) any or all of the net revenues of its joint utility, which utility shall include the municipality's generating facility or facilities or its interest in the jointly owned generating facility or facilities being financed by such bonds, in the case of joint utility revenue bonds; E. may impose rates and charges, including a special generating charge, with respect to each of its generating facilities and each of the jointly owned generating facilities in which it has an interest or with respect to all such facilities; F. shall, upon issuance of revenue bonds secured in whole or in part by the net revenues of its generating facility or its interest in a jointly owned generating facility, establish rates or charges for services rendered by such facility to provide revenues which when added to any revenues to be received with respect to such facility from the sale of surplus power pursuant to Section 3-24-1 NMSA 1978 will be sufficient to meet the following requirements: (1) pay all costs and expenses of service, operation and maintenance including funding reasonable reserves and reasonable renewal and replacement funds; and (2) pay all principal and interest payments on the revenue bonds as they become due, including payments into one or more sinking funds for the retirement of principal of the revenue bonds. Such rates or charges shall remain in effect until the revenue bonds are liquidated; G. shall have the power of eminent domain necessary to acquire, operate and maintain a generating facility and an interest in a jointly owned generating facility, exercisable in the same manner provided by the laws of this state for the exercise of that power by corporations organized for the generation, production, transmission, distribution, sale or utilization of electricity for lighting, heating, power, manufacturing or other purposes; H. shall, where it may be necessary to cross the right-of-way of another corporation, person or governmental or private entity, have the power to effect such crossing by mutual agreement or in the manner now provided by law for the crossing of one railroad by another railroad; I. shall have all rights and powers necessary or incidental to or implied from the specific powers granted in the Municipal Electric Generation Act, subject to constitutional or express legislative restrictions imposed upon such municipality; and J. may exercise the powers granted by the Municipal Electric Generation Act in the manner provided in the Joint Powers Agreements Act [11-1-1 to 11-1-7 NMSA 1978]. Provided, however, in carrying out the powers granted by the Municipal Electric Generation Act, a municipality shall not issue revenue bonds to finance a generating facility or an interest in a jointly-owned generating facility if the electric power and energy to be derived by the municipality from such facility will be sold to one or more investor-owned utilities under a contract or contracts which have the effect of transferring to such investor-owned utility or utilities benefits of ownership of such facility and the burden of paying the debt service on the revenue bonds issued to finance such facility, so that such bonds would constitute nonexempt industrial development bonds within the meaning of Subsection C of Section 103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and the regulations promulgated thereunder. The validity of any such revenue bond issue shall not be questioned if, prior to or upon issuance, there has been an internal revenue service revenue ruling that such bonds shall not be industrial development bonds under Subsection C of Section 103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

Legislative History

1978 Comp., § 3-24-14, enacted by Laws 1979, ch. 260, § 11.