Vermont § 5013 - Special powers

§ 5013. Special powers

• (a) The Authority may contract to sell, and member municipalities and cooperatives and
  other utilities may contract to purchase, all or a portion of the capacity and output
  of one or more specific projects including contracts providing for planning, engineering,
  design, acquiring sites or options for sites, and expenses preliminary or incidental
  to such project. This contract may be for the life of a project or other term or for
  an indefinite period; may provide for the payment of unconditional obligations imposed
  without regard to whether a project is undertaken, completed, operable, or operating
  and despite the suspension, interruption, interference, reduction, or curtailment
  of the output of a project; and may contain provisions for prepayment, nonunanimous
  amendment, arbitration, delegation, and other matters deemed necessary or desirable
  to carry out its purposes. This contract may also provide, in the event of default
  by any party to the contract in the performance of its obligations under the contract,
  for other parties to assume the obligations and succeed to the rights and interests
  of the defaulting party, pro rata or otherwise as may be agreed upon in the contract. (b) Neither the obligations of the Authority nor the obligations of any member municipality
  or cooperative or other utility under any contract authorized by subsection (a) of
  this section shall be deemed to constitute an indebtedness or a lending of credit
  of the Authority or any such municipality, cooperative, or other utility or shall
  be included in computing the borrowing capacity of the Authority, or any such municipality,
  cooperative, or other utility. These obligations of such municipalities and cooperatives
  shall be treated as expenses of operating their electric plants. In the case of municipalities,
  these obligations shall constitute special obligations of such municipalities payable
  solely from the revenues and other monies derived by them from their electric departments
  or systems. The liability of these municipalities from other funds is limited to obligations
  undertaken by them to pay for the electric power and energy used by them. (c) A municipality or cooperative shall be obligated to fix, revise, and collect fees
  and charges for electric power and energy and other services, facilities, and commodities
  furnished or supplied through its electric system at least sufficient to provide revenues
  adequate to meet its obligations under any such output and capacity contract and to
  pay all other amounts payable from or constituting a charge and lien upon those revenues. (d) Any member municipality or cooperative may convey, transfer, or assign to the Authority,
  with or without consideration, any real or personal property or interest in either,
  including a leasehold estate. (e) The Authority and any member municipality or cooperative or other utility (whether
  or not such utility is a member of the Authority) that is acting pursuant to a contract
  with the Authority may expend its funds, including the proceeds of its notes, bonds,
  or other obligations, for the purposes of modifying demand for electric capacity or
  energy through conservation or load management by participation in such facilities,
  projects, and programs as the Board of the Authority or the legislative body or other
  governing body or the governing board of the member municipality or cooperative or
  other utility, as the case may be, determines will effectively accomplish such purposes.
  Such facilities, projects, and programs may include providing or financing facilities
  or projects for conservation or load management, which may be: owned or operated by
  the Authority or any member municipality or cooperative or other utility or by others;
  leased or licensed by the Authority or any member municipality or cooperative or other
  utility to others, or financed by loans by the Authority or any member municipality
  or cooperative or other utility to others, in either case on such terms and conditions
  as the Board of the Authority or the legislative body or other governing body or the
  governing board of the member municipality or cooperative or other utility, as the
  case may be, may determine. Any member municipality or cooperative or other utility
  may issue its notes, bonds, or other obligations pursuant to any statutory authority
  conferring such power for carrying out the purposes of this subsection. (Added 1979, No. 78, § 3; amended 1989, No. 112, §§ 2, 4, eff. June 22, 1989; 2009, No. 78 (Adj. Sess.), § 40, eff. April 15, 2010.)