2023 Tennessee Code › Title 48 - CORPORATIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS (§§ 48-1-101 — 48-250-115) › NONPROFIT CORPORATIONS (§§ 48-51-101 — 48-69-123) › Chapter 69 - ELECTRIC G AND T COOPERATIVE ACT (§§ 48-69-101 — 48-69-123) › Section 48-69-106 - Purposes of cooperatives - Powers

(a)
A G&T cooperative shall have the following purposes:
(1)
To supply or furnish at wholesale electric power and energy services to one (1) or more patrons;
(2)
To own, lease, construct, acquire, operate or otherwise have control, either alone or with others, plants, equipment, facilities, lines and all property necessary to transmit, generate, supply or otherwise furnish electrical energy and power for the needs of its wholesale customers;
(3)
To supply, furnish or exchange wholesale electrical power, capacity and energy to or with any other entity;
(4)
To provide management or operating services by contract with any distribution cooperative, energy acquisition corporation or governmental electric system or other cooperatively organized or governmentally-owned utility system; and
(5)
Other purposes that may be prescribed in the charter of the G&T cooperative to the extent the purposes are for the benefit of the members of the G&T cooperative and are not prohibited by this chapter or any other laws.
(b)
In addition to the powers set forth in chapter 53 of this title, and subject only to the limitations provided in this chapter, a G&T cooperative shall have the powers to:
(1)
Have a corporate seal and alter the seal at will; provided, that it need not have, nor shall it for any purpose be necessary for the cooperative to use the seal;
(2)
Become a member in or stockholder of one (1) or more other nonprofit cooperatives, corporations or other legal entities and to own the other cooperatives, corporations or other legal entities, wholly or in part;
(3)
Solely on its own, or jointly, as tenant in common or as a partner with one (1) or more other entities, construct, purchase, take, receive, lease as lessee or lessor, or otherwise acquire and own, hold, use, equip, maintain and operate and sell, assign, transfer, convey, exchange, lease back, mortgage, pledge or otherwise dispose of or encumber any and all property, of whatever kind or nature and of whatever estate, real and personal, tangible and intangible, including choses in action;
(4)
Purchase or otherwise acquire, and own, lease as lessor or lessee, lease back, hold, use, and exercise, and sell, assign, transfer, convey, mortgage, pledge, hypothecate, or otherwise dispose of or encumber, franchises, rights, privileges, licenses, rights-of-way and easements;
(5)
Incur indebtedness in the form of notes, bonds, loans or other evidence of indebtedness and secure any of its liabilities or obligations by mortgage, pledge, deed of trust or any other encumbrance upon any or all of its then-owned or after-acquired real or personal property, assets, franchises, revenues or income;
(6)
Make any and all contracts necessary or convenient for the full exercise of the powers in this chapter granted, including, but not limited to, contracts with any person, federal agency or municipality for the purchase or sale of electric power and energy and, in connection with any such electric power and energy contract, stipulate and agree to such covenants, terms and conditions as the board may deem appropriate, including covenants, terms and conditions with respect to resale rates, financial and accounting methods, services, operation and maintenance practices and, consistent with §
48-69-113
, the manner of disposing of the revenues of the properties operated and maintained by the cooperative;
(7)
Conduct its business and exercise any or all of its powers within or without this state;
(8)
Adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws;
(9)
Organize and promote and otherwise foster and participate in, through membership or ownership, including stock ownership, community, regional or statewide or national organizations whose purposes are or include the promotion and assistance of economic, industrial or commercial development that the board of the cooperative determines will, or likely will, result in economic benefits to the cooperative or its members;
(10)
Do and perform any and all other acts and things and have and exercise any and all other powers that may be necessary, convenient or appropriate to accomplish the cooperative's purpose or purposes;
(11)
Construct, maintain and operate electric transmission and distribution lines or other conducting facilities along, upon, under and across all public thoroughfares, including, without limitation, all roads, highways, streets, alleys, bridges and causeways, and upon, under and across all publicly owned lands; provided, that the respective authorities having jurisdiction shall consent thereto; provided, further, that such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or conditioned or withheld or conditioned for the purpose of enabling such an authority to gain competitive advantage with respect to the rendition by itself or any other entity of a service that the cooperative also has a right to render;
(12)
Without limiting the generality or particularity of subdivisions (b)(1)-(11):
(A)
Generate, manufacture, purchase, acquire and transmit, and transform, supply, distribute, furnish, deliver, sell and dispose of, electric power and energy; and
(B)
Condemn either the fee or such other right, title, interest or easement in and to property as the board may deem necessary, and such property or interest in such property may be so acquired, whether or not the property or interest in property is owned or held for public use by corporations, associations, cooperatives or persons having the power of eminent domain, or otherwise held or used for public purposes, and the power of condemnation may be exercised in the mode of procedure prescribed by title 29, chapter 16, in the mode of procedure prescribed by title 65, chapter 22, or in the mode or method of procedure prescribed by any other applicable statutory provisions now in force or hereafter enacted for the exercise of the power of eminent domain; provided, that no property that is owned or held for public use, nor any interest in the property, shall be condemned if, in the judgment of the court the condemnation of the property or interest in the property will obstruct, prevent, burden, interfere with or unduly inconvenience the continued use of the property for the public use to which it is devoted at the time the property is sought to be condemned; provided, further, that where title to any property sought to be condemned is defective, it shall be passed by decree of court; provided, further, that where condemnation proceedings become necessary, the court in which the proceedings are filed shall, upon application by the cooperative and upon the posting of a bond with the clerk of the court in such amount as the court may deem commensurate with the value of the property, order that the right of possession shall issue immediately or as soon and upon such terms as the court, in its discretion, may deem proper and just; but, provided further, that in cases where condemnation of property already devoted to a public use is sought, no order as to right of possession shall issue until it is finally determined that the condemnor is entitled to condemn the property. The power of eminent domain provided by this subdivision (b)(12)(B) shall be supplemental to, not in lieu of or in conflict with, §
48-51-103
; and
(13)
Enter into one (1) or more agreements providing for the making of payments in lieu of taxation to any state or local taxing jurisdiction within or outside this state to the extent that the G&T cooperative's wholesale sale of capacity and energy to a member or patron of the G&T cooperative results in a diminution in payments in lieu of taxation from the Tennessee Valley authority to such state and local governments. For purposes of this subdivision (b)(13), "payments in lieu of taxation" means payments made by the Tennessee Valley authority to state and local governments on account of its gross proceeds under § 13 of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 (
16 U.S.C. § 831
l
). All such payments shall be ordinary operating expenses of the G&T cooperative.
(c)
Neither this chapter nor any other law of this state shall be construed to authorize a G&T cooperative to own or otherwise acquire a legal or beneficial interest in a governmental electric system or in a distribution cooperative, except such interest as the G&T cooperative may acquire as a member-customer of a distribution cooperative.
Acts 2009 , ch. 475, § 1; 2010 , ch. 1035, § 2.