Section 46-4-96. Powers

   (a) The authority shall have all powers necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purpose and provisions of this article including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the power:

   (1) To sue and be sued in contract and in tort and to complain and defend in all courts;

   (2) To adopt and to alter a corporate seal;

   (3) To acquire in its own name, inside and outside this state, real property or rights and easements therein and franchises and personal property necessary or convenient for its corporate purposes, by purchase, on such terms and conditions and in such manner as it may deem proper, or by the exercise of the power of eminent domain in accordance with any and all existing laws of the State of Georgia applicable to the condemnation of property for public use, including the power to proceed as a condemning body under Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Title 22 or by gift, grant, lease, or otherwise; to insure the same against any and all risks as such insurance may, from time to time, be available; and to use such property, rent or lease the same to or from others, make contracts with respect to the use thereof, or sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of any such property in any manner it deems to the best advantage of the authority and the purposes thereof. The power to acquire, use, and dispose of property provided in this paragraph shall include the power to acquire, use, and dispose of any interest in such property, whether divided or undivided, which acquisition may result in the ownership of such property or any part thereof in common with any other party, whether public or private. Title to any such property of the authority, however, shall be held by the authority exclusively for the benefit of the public. The authority shall be under no obligation to accept and pay for any property condemned under this article except from the funds provided under the authority of this article and, in any proceedings to condemn, such orders may be made by the court having jurisdiction of the action as may be just to the authority and to the owners of the property to be condemned. If the authority shall deem it expedient to construct any project on lands which are subject to the control of the state or of any political subdivision or public corporation of the state, the appropriate state authorities, in the case of lands controlled by the state, or the governing authorities of such political subdivisions or such public corporations are authorized to convey such lands to the authority for such consideration, not exceeding reasonable value, as may be agreed upon by the authority, as grantee, and by the appropriate state authorities or by the governing body of such political subdivision or by such public corporation, as grantor, taking into consideration the public benefit to be derived from such conveyance;

   (4) To appoint and select officers, agents, and employees, including engineering, architectural, and construction experts, fiscal agents, and attorneys, and to fix their compensation;

   (5) To acquire, by purchase or otherwise, in whole or in part, inside or outside this state, as provided in paragraph (3) of this Code section, and to place into operation and operate or cause to be placed into operation and operated, either as owner of all or of any part in common with others or as agent, facilities and projects for the storage, acquisition, exploration, production, distribution, transmission, purchase, sale, exchange, or interchange of gas; to acquire and to provide, by sale or otherwise, an adequate, dependable, and economical gas supply to political subdivisions of this state contracting with the authority pursuant to the authority of Code Section 46-4-100; and, through such political subdivisions, to supply such gas to the members of the public in the areas served by them; and, as agent for such political subdivisions, to secure gas contracts and arrangements with other persons. The authority shall also have the power, which may be exercised either as principal or as agent, to manufacture, store, and transmit gas for light, heat, power, and energy; to manufacture, buy, sell, import, export, lease, or otherwise acquire and generally deal in gas apparatuses of all kinds and machinery and devices and materials and fossil fuels for the manufacture, storage, and transmission of gas for light, heat, power, and energy; to purchase gas at retail or wholesale from any other person; to purchase or construct part of the capacity of projects or facilities sponsored and owned by or in common with others, making any such purchase at wholesale or retail inside or outside this state; to contract for the purchase of gas from, or the sale of gas to, the United States government and gas utility systems either privately or publicly owned, inside or outside this state; to execute long-term or short-term gas purchase or sale contracts on terms which may include agreements with respect to resale rates and the disposition of revenues; to interchange, exchange, store, and purchase gas from any person; to erect, buy, lease, or otherwise acquire, operate, and maintain gas lighting and heating projects; to transmit gas both for itself and on behalf of others; to erect, buy, sell, lease, or otherwise acquire, maintain, and operate or cause to be maintained and operated plants, underground subways, conduits, and pipelines above, upon, and under the streets, alleys, lands, and territories of political subdivisions, public or private corporations, or individuals; and to continue to sell gas to political subdivisions of this state which are authorized to contract with the authority pursuant to Code Section 46-4-100 and to other persons and entities inside or outside this state and, as agent for any or all of the same, to make gas otherwise available to them through arrangements with other persons, all in the exercise of the powers of the authority and to effectuate the purposes of this article;

   (6) To designate one or more systems in effectuating any of its purposes;

   (7) To contract with the state and its agencies, instrumentalities, and departments; with those political subdivisions of the state which are authorized to contract with the authority pursuant to Code Section 46-4-100; and with private persons and corporations inside or outside this state. This power includes the making of contracts for the construction of projects, which contracts for construction may be made either as sole owner of the project or as owner, in common with other public or private persons, of any divided or undivided interest therein; and is further intended to include, without limitation, the making of contracts for the purchase, sale, exchange, interchange, pooling, transmission, distribution, or storage of gas and fuel of any kind for any such purposes, inside and outside the State of Georgia, 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, on such terms and for such period of time, not exceeding 50 years, as the authority shall determine; and is further intended to include, without limitation, the making of contracts for furnishing gas supply development services and management services to political subdivisions contracting with the authority pursuant to Code Section 46-4-100.

   (8) To exercise any one or more of the powers, rights, and privileges conferred by this article either alone or jointly or in common with one or more other parties or utilities, whether public or private. In any such exercise of such powers, rights, and privileges jointly or in common with others with respect to the construction, operation, and maintenance of gas projects or facilities, the authority may own an undivided interest in such facilities with any other parties, whether public or private. The authority may enter into agreements with respect to any such gas exploration, storage, manufacturing, distribution, or transmission facility with the other parties participating therein, and any such agreement may contain such terms, conditions, and provisions consistent with this article as the parties thereto shall deem to be in their best interests. Any such agreement may include, but need not be limited to, provisions for the construction, operation, and maintenance of such gas exploration, storage, manufacturing, or transmission facility by any one or more of the parties to such agreement, which party or parties shall be designated in or pursuant to such agreement as agent or agents on behalf of itself and one or more of the other parties thereto, or by such other means as may be determined by the parties thereto. Such an agreement may also include provisions for methods of determining and allocating among or between the parties the costs of construction, operation, maintenance, renewals, replacements, improvements, and disposals with respect to such facility. In carrying out its functions and activities as such agent with respect to the construction, operation, and maintenance of such facility, such agent shall be governed by the laws and regulations applicable to such agent as a separate legal entity, and not by any laws or regulations which may be applicable to any of the other participating parties. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, pursuant to the terms of any such agreement, the authority may delegate its powers and duties with respect to the construction, operation, and maintenance of such facility to the party acting as agent; and all actions taken by such agent in accordance with the provisions of such agreement may be made binding upon the authority without further action or approval by the authority;

   (9) To accept, receive, and administer gifts, grants, appropriations, and donations of moneys, materials, and property of any kind, including loans and grants from the United States government or the State of Georgia or any agency, department, authority, or instrumentality of either, upon such terms and conditions as the United States government, the State of Georgia, or such agency, department, authority, or instrumentality shall impose; to administer trusts; and to sell, lease, transfer, convey, appropriate, and pledge any and all of its property and assets;

   (10) To invest any accumulation of its funds and any sinking fund or reserves in any manner that the authority considers prudent, including entering into hedging, options, and future transactions, notwithstanding any other law of this state relating to investment of public funds, and to purchase its own bonds and notes;

   (11) To employ such investment and money-management techniques as the authority shall determine to be prudent and not inconsistent with this article or the other laws of the state;

   (12) To do any and all things necessary to reduce the cost of gas furnished to political subdivisions contracting with the authority including, without limitation, entering into interest rate swaps and other arrangements for restructuring the authority's capitalization;

   (13) To provide management, technical, financial, informational, promotional, and educational services to and for the benefit of the political subdivisions;

   (14) To do any and all things necessary or proper for the accomplishment of the objectives of this article and to exercise any power usually possessed by private corporations performing similar functions which is not in conflict with the Constitution and laws of this state, including:

      (A) Employment of professional and administrative staff and personnel and retaining of legal, engineering, and other professional services;

      (B) The purchase of all kinds of insurance, including, without limitation, insurance against tort liability and against risks of damage to property;

      (C) The borrowing of money for any of the corporate purposes of the authority, provided that obligations of the authority other than revenue bonds for which provision is made in this article shall be payable from funds of the authority other than any special fund allocated to the payment of revenue bonds, and shall not be a charge against such special fund;

      (D) The power to indemnify and hold harmless any parties contracting with the authority or its agents from damage to persons or property; and

      (E) The power to act as self-insurer with respect to any loss or liability; and

   (15) To issue its revenue bonds as provided in this article in evidence of its indebtedness incurred with respect to the powers described in this article, such bonds to be payable from the revenues, receipts, and earnings of the projects or systems of the authority and other available funds thereof; to execute trust agreements or indentures; to sell, convey, pledge, and assign any and all of its funds, assets, property, and income as security for the payment of such revenue bonds; and to provide for the payment of the same and for the rights of the owners thereof.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the authority shall not have the power or authority to engage in the distribution or sale of gas or the transmission of gas to an ultimate consumer thereof, irrespective of whether such consumer is a public or private person or other entity, and irrespective of whether the authority acts alone, in conjunction with, on behalf of, or as an agent for another or others in any such transaction.

Code 1981, § 46-4-96, enacted by Ga. L. 1987, p. 745, § 1.