Section 40-33.2-04 - Municipal power agencies - PowersA municipal power agency shall be a municipal corporation and a political subdivision of the state and shall have all of the powers enumerated in this section, in furtherance of the purpose stated in section 40-33.2-01, and in the exercise thereof shall be deemed to be performing an essential governmental function. All powers of the municipal power agency shall be exercised by its board of directors, unless otherwise provided by the agency agreement or bylaws. A municipal power agency:
1. May plan, acquire, construct, reconstruct, operate, maintain, repair, extend, or improve one or more projects within or outside the state or acquire any interest in or any right to capacity of a project and may act as agent, or designate one or more of the other persons participating in a project to act as its agent, in connection with the planning, acquisition, construction, reconstruction, operation, maintenance, repair, extension, or improvement of the project.2. May investigate the desirability of and necessity for additional sources and supplies of electric energy and make studies, surveys, and estimates as may be necessary to determine the feasibility and cost thereof.3. May cooperate with other persons in the development of sources and supplies of electric energy.4. May apply to any public agency for consents, authorizations, or approvals required for any project within its powers and take all actions necessary to comply with the conditions thereof.5. May perform any act authorized by this chapter through or by means of its officers, agents, or employees or by contract with any person.6. May acquire, hold, use, and dispose of income, revenues, funds, and money.7. May acquire, own, hire, use, operate, lease as lessor or lessee, and dispose of personal property or real property, and interests in real property, and make improvements on real property.8. May grant the use by franchise, lease, or otherwise and make charges for the use of any property or facility owned or controlled by it.9. May borrow money and issue negotiable bonds, notes, or other debt instruments secured or unsecured, in accordance with section 40-33.2-05.10. Subject to any agreement with bondholders or noteholders, may invest money of the municipal power agency not required for immediate use, including proceeds from the sale of any bonds or notes, in such obligations, securities, and other investments as the municipal power agency shall deem prudent, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law relating to the investment of public funds.11. May determine the location and character of, and all other matters in connection with, any and all projects it is authorized to acquire, hold, establish, effectuate, operate, or control.12. May contract with any person, within or outside the state and within or outside the United States, for the construction of any project or for the sale or transmission of electric energy generated by any project, or for any interest therein or any right to capacity thereof, on such terms and for such period of time as the municipal power agency determines.13. May purchase, sell, exchange, or transmit electric energy within and outside the state and within or outside the United States, in such amounts as it shall determine to be necessary and appropriate to make the most effective use of its powers and to meet its responsibilities, and may enter into agreements with any person with respect to that purchase, sale, exchange, or transmission, on such terms and for such period of time as its board of directors determines.14. May procure insurance against any losses in connection with its property, operations, or assets in such amounts and from such insurers as it deems desirable.15. May contract for and accept any gifts or grants or loans of funds or property or financial or other aid in any form from any person and may comply, subject to this chapter, with the terms and conditions thereof.16. May mortgage, pledge, and grant a security interest in any or all of its property to secure the payment of its bonds, notes, or other obligations or contracts.17. Shall pay to each taxing authority within whose taxing jurisdiction its property is situated, in lieu of taxes on its property, the amounts of the taxes which would be payable if its property were owned by a private person. For this purpose, the property of a municipal power agency shall be valued in the same manner and by the same procedure as the property of private utility companies.18. May sue and be sued, complain, and defend in its agency name.19. May exercise all other powers not inconsistent with the Constitution of North Dakota or the Constitution of the United States, which powers may be reasonably necessary or appropriate for or incidental to the effectuation of its authorized purposes or to the exercise of any of the powers enumerated in this chapter, and generally may exercise in connection with its properties and affairs, and in connection with property within its control, any and all powers which might be exercised by an individual or a private corporation in connection with similar property and affairs.