Section 394.080

Title XXV INCORPORATION AND REGULATION OF CERTAIN UTILITIES AND CARRIERS

Chapter 394

Effective - 28 Aug 2018, 2 histories   

  394.080.  Powers, generally — may supply energy to certain cities, towns and villages, when. — 1.  A cooperative shall have power:

  (1)  To sue and be sued, in its corporate name;

  (2)  To have succession by its corporate name for the period stated in its articles of incorporation or, if no period is stated in its articles of incorporation, to have such succession perpetually;

  (3)  To adopt a corporate seal and alter the same at pleasure;

  (4)  Except as provided in section 386.800, to generate, manufacture, purchase, acquire, accumulate and transmit electric energy, and to distribute, sell, supply, and dispose of electric energy in rural areas to its members, to governmental agencies and political subdivisions, and to other persons not in excess of ten percent of the number of its members; provided, however, that where a cooperative has been transmitting, distributing, selling, supplying or disposing of electric energy in a rural area which, by reason of increase in its population, its inclusion in a city, town or village, or by reason of any other circumstance ceases to be a rural area, such cooperative shall have the power to continue to transmit, distribute, sell, supply or dispose of electric energy therein until such time as the municipality, or the holder of a franchise to furnish electric energy in such municipality, may purchase the physical property of such cooperative located within the boundaries of the municipality, pursuant to law, or until such time as the municipality may grant a franchise in the manner provided by law to a privately owned public utility to distribute electric power within the municipality and such privately owned public utility shall purchase the physical property of such cooperative located within the boundaries of the municipality.  In case any of the parties to such purchase, as herein provided, cannot agree upon the fair and reasonable price to be paid for the physical property of such cooperative within the municipality, or if either party refuses to negotiate for the sale of such property upon the request of the other, the fair and reasonable value of such property for such purchase shall be fixed by the public service commission upon application of any one or more of the interested parties;

  (5)  To make loans to persons to whom electric energy is or will be supplied by the cooperative for the purpose of, and otherwise to assist such persons in, wiring their premises and installing therein electric and plumbing fixtures, appliances, apparatus and equipment of any and all kinds and character, and in connection therewith, to purchase, acquire, lease, sell, distribute, install and repair such electric and plumbing fixtures, appliances, apparatus and equipment, and to accept or otherwise acquire, and to sell, assign, transfer, endorse, pledge, hypothecate and otherwise dispose of notes, bonds and other evidences of indebtedness and any and all types of security therefor;

  (6)  To make loans to persons to whom electric energy is or will be supplied by the cooperative for the purpose of, and otherwise to assist such persons in, constructing, maintaining and operating electric refrigeration plants;

  (7)  To construct, purchase, take, receive, lease as lessee, or otherwise acquire, and to own, hold, use, equip, maintain, and operate, and to sell, assign, transfer, convey, exchange, lease as lessor, mortgage, pledge, or otherwise dispose of or encumber, electric transmission and distribution lines or systems, electric generating plants, electric refrigeration plants, lands, buildings, structures, dams, plants and equipment, and any and all kinds and classes of real or personal property whatsoever, which shall be deemed necessary, convenient or appropriate to accomplish the purpose for which the cooperative is organized.  For the purposes of this section, "electric transmission and distribution lines or systems" includes, but is not limited to, cooperative-owned or cooperative subsidiary-owned copper and fiber optic cable, facilities and technology, or any combination thereof, that carries, or has the capacity to carry, light signals and data beyond or in addition to the light signals and data necessary for the transmission and distribution of electricity;

  (8)  To purchase or otherwise acquire, and to own, hold, use and exercise and to sell, assign, transfer, convey, mortgage, pledge, hypothecate, or otherwise dispose of or encumber, franchises, rights, privileges, licenses, rights-of-way and easements;

  (9)  To borrow money and otherwise contract indebtedness, and to issue notes, bonds, and other evidences of indebtedness therefor, and to secure the payment thereof 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;

  (10)  To construct, maintain and operate electric transmission and distribution lines 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, subject, however, to the requirements in respect of the use of such thoroughfares and lands that are imposed by the respective authorities having jurisdiction thereof upon corporations constructing or operating electric transmission and distribution lines or systems;

  (11)  To exercise the power of eminent domain in the manner provided by the laws of this state for the exercise of that power by corporations constructing or operating electric transmission and distribution lines or systems.  If a property owner prevails against a rural electric cooperative or a cooperative subsidiary in a suit in trespass or in inverse condemnation filed after August 28, 2018, the trespass shall be deemed permanent and the actual damages awarded shall be the fair market value, which, notwithstanding any other provision of law, shall always be greater than zero, as defined and calculated in subdivision (1) of section 523.001 and determined in accordance with section 523.039.  In no case filed after August 28, 2018, may evidence of revenues or profits derived, nor the rental value of an assembled communications corridor, be admissible in determining fair market value.  Such actual damages shall be fixed at the time of the initial trespass, shall not be deemed to continue, accumulate, or accrue, and upon payment of damages the defendant shall be granted a permanent easement for the trespass litigated.  If a property owner prevails in such suits, punitive damages may be assessed and the property owner may be awarded additional compensation for any physical damages to the property directly resulting from the trespass, if any, and reasonable attorneys'^* fees, costs, and expenses consistent with subsection 4 of section 523.283;

  (12)  To conduct its business and exercise any or all of its powers within or without this state;

  (13)  To adopt, amend and repeal bylaws; and

  (14)  To do and perform any and all other acts and things, and to have and exercise any and all other powers which may be necessary, convenient or appropriate to accomplish the purpose for which the cooperative is organized.

  2.  In addition to all other powers granted in this section, rural electric cooperatives shall have the power to supply electric energy at retail after August 28, 1989, in cities, towns and villages having a population in excess of fifteen hundred inhabitants under the following conditions:

  (1)  The cooperative was the predominant supplier of retail electric energy within the city, town or village at the time any official United States Census Bureau Decennial Census Report declares the population of such city, town or village to be in excess of fifteen hundred inhabitants;

  (2)  The city, town or village has granted to the cooperative a franchise to supply electric energy within the city, town or village.

  3.  In addition, the cooperative shall provide, concurrent with its application to the city, town or village for its initial franchise, written notice of its franchise application to all other providers of electric energy at retail operating within such city, town or village.

  4.  The provisions of subsections 2 and 3 of this section shall in no way affect or diminish the rights and duties of any city, town or village to grant franchises to electric suppliers in the manner provided by law or of any electrical corporation authorized by law to provide electric service at retail within such city, town or village.

  5.  Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 2 of this section, after a public hearing upon a complaint, the public service commission may order that service be provided by another supplier if it finds that service from another supplier of electricity is in the public interest for a reason other than rate differential.  Nothing in this section shall be construed as conferring upon the public service commission jurisdiction over the rates, financing, accounting or management of any electric cooperative.

  6.  The powers conferred upon rural electric cooperatives under this section and section 394.085 shall be subject to the provisions of section 416.031.

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(RSMo 1939 § 5388, A.L. 1943 p. 491, A.L. 1949 p. 238, A.L. 1983 H.B. 137, A.L. 1989 H.B. 813, A.L. 1991 S.B. 221, A.L. 2018 H.B. 1880)

*Word "attorney's" appears in original rolls.

CROSS REFERENCES:

Condemnation proceedings, Chap. 523

Electric vehicle charging station considered an addition or expansion of existing structure, when, 386.805

Power lines on state highways, location and removal, 227.240