§ 11-24-107. Powers, rights and privileges of Authority.

(a)  The Authority shall have and is hereby authorized to exercise all powers, rights and privileges enumerated in this section.  Such powers, rights and privileges shall be exercised by its Board of Directors unless otherwise specifically provided herein or by the bylaws of the Authority as in effect from time to time.

(b)  The Authority may plan, finance, acquire, construct, reconstruct, own, lease, operate, maintain, repair, improve, extend or otherwise participate, individually or jointly with other persons, in one or more projects, proposed, existing or under construction, and may act as agent, or designate one or more persons, whether or not participating in a project, to act as its agent, in connection with the planning, financing, acquisition, construction, reconstruction, ownership, lease, operation, maintenance, repair, extension or improvement of the project.

(c)  The Authority may investigate the desirability of and necessity for additional sources and supplies of electrical energy and fuel and other supplies of any kind for such purpose, and make studies, surveys and estimates as may be necessary to determine the feasibility and cost thereof.

(d)  The Authority may cooperate with other persons in the development of sources and supplies of electrical energy and fuel and other supplies of any kind for such purposes, and give assistance with personnel and equipment in any project.

(e)  The Authority may apply to any person for consents, authorizations or approvals required for any project within its powers and take all actions necessary to comply with the conditions thereof.

(f)  The Authority may perform any act authorized by this act through, or by means of, its officers, agents or employees or by contract with any person, including, without limitation, the employment of engineers, architects, attorneys, appraisers, financial advisors and such other consultants and employees as may be required in the judgment of the Board of Directors, and fix and pay their compensation from funds available to the Authority therefor.

(g)  The Authority may acquire, hold, use and dispose of income, revenues, funds and money.

(h)  The Authority may, individually or jointly with other persons, acquire, own, hire, use, operate and dispose of personal property and any interest therein.

(i)  The Authority may, individually or jointly with other persons, acquire, own, use, lease as lessor or lessee, operate and dispose of real property and interests in real property, including projects existing, proposed or under construction, and make improvements thereon.

(j)  The Authority 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.

(k)  The Authority may borrow money and issue negotiable bonds, secured or unsecured, in accordance with this act, and may enter into interest rate swaps and other derivative products, and other financial instruments intended to hedge interest rate risk or manage interest rate costs, including any option to enter into or terminate any of them, that the Authority deems to be necessary or desirable in connection with any bonds issued prior to, at the same time as, or after entering into such arrangement, and containing such terms and provisions, and may be with such parties, as determined by the Authority.  Provided, any action taken by the Authority pursuant to this subsection must first be approved by the Office of the State Bond Advisor and the Council of Bond Oversight pursuant to the provisions of the Oklahoma Bond Oversight and Reform Act.

(l)  The Authority may invest money of the Authority not required for immediate use, including proceeds from the sale of any bonds.

(m)  The Authority may exercise the power of eminent domain in accordance with the provisions of Section 24-110 of this title.

(n)  The Authority 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.

(o)  The Authority may contract with any person for the planning, development, construction, operation, sale or lease as lessor or lessee of any project or for any interest therein, on such terms and for such period of time as its Board of Directors shall determine.

(p)  The Authority may contract with any eligible public agency, any public trust, or any other person for the sale of power and energy, transmission services, power supply development services or other services within or without the State of Oklahoma on such terms and conditions as the Board of Directors shall approve.  Any such contract may be for the sale of output and services of a particular project or may be for output and services generally without regard to a specific project and may be for the supply of a specific quantity of output or a percentage of the output of a specific project or other specific facility or may be based on the requirements of the purchaser or may be on such other terms and conditions as the Board of Directors deems appropriate.

(q)  The Authority may enter into any contract or agreement necessary, appropriate or incidental to the effectuation of its lawful purposes and the exercise of the powers granted by this act, including, without limitation, contracts or agreements for the purchase, sale, exchange, interchange, wheeling, pooling, transmission or storage of electric power and energy, and fuel and other supplies of any kind for any such purposes, within and without the State of Oklahoma, 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 as the Board of Directors determines, and derivative or other instruments intended to hedge fuel cost risk associated with any projects or power purchases or supply arrangements of the Authority, or to hedge fixed or variable interest rate exposure associated with permitted investments, including any option to enter into or terminate any of them, that the Authority deems to be necessary or desirable, and containing such terms and provisions, and may be with such parties, as determined by the Authority.

(r)  In any case in which the Authority participates in a project as a joint owner with one or more persons, the Authority may enter into an agreement or agreements with respect to such project with the other person or persons participating therein, and any such agreement may contain such terms, conditions and provisions consistent with the provisions of the act as the parties thereto shall deem to be in their best interest.  Any such agreement may include, but need not be limited to, provisions defining what constitutes a default thereunder and providing for the rights and remedies of the parties thereto upon the occurrence of such a default deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors including, to the extent deemed appropriate, the acquisition by nondefaulting parties of all or any part of the defaulting party's interest; provisions setting forth such restraints on alienation of the interests of the parties in the project as the Board of Directors deems appropriate; provisions for the construction, operation and maintenance of such electric generation 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 parties thereto or by such other means as may be determined by the parties thereto; and provisions for a method or methods of determining and allocating, among or between the parties, costs of construction, operation, maintenance, renewals, replacements, improvements and disposals with respect to such project.  In exercising its power to participate in a project as a joint owner with one or more persons, the Authority may not loan its credit to any person which is a joint owner of such project; provided, however, the appropriate allocations of the costs of construction, operation, maintenance, renewals, replacements, improvements and disposals with respect to such project between the Authority and such persons shall not be a loan of credit by the Authority to such persons.  In carrying out its functions and activities as such agent with respect to construction, operation and maintenance of a project, 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 anything contained in 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 project to the person 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.

(s)  The Authority 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, or may self-insure against such losses.

(t)  The Authority may contract for and accept any gifts, grants or loans of funds or property or financial or other aid in any form from any person, and may comply, subject to the provisions of this act, with the terms and conditions thereof.

(u)  The Authority may adopt a corporate seal and may sue or be sued.

(v)  The Authority may exercise all other powers not inconsistent with the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma or the United States Constitution, which powers may be reasonably necessary or appropriate for or incidental to effectuate its authorized purposes or to the exercise of any of the powers enumerated in this act.

(w)  Notwithstanding any other provision herein seemingly to the contrary, the Authority may not sell output (i) at retail to the ultimate consumers thereof, (ii) to any municipality which does not qualify as an eligible public agency under the definition set forth in subsection (d) of Section 24-105 of this title, or (iii) to any trust created and existing under the provisions of the Local Industrial Development Act, as provided by Sections 651 et seq. of Title 62 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or the Trusts for Furtherance of Public Functions Law, as provided by Sections 176 et seq. of Title 60 of the Oklahoma Statutes, which does not qualify as a public trust under the definition set forth in subsection (g) of Section 24-105 of this title.

Added by Laws 1981, c. 218, § 7, emerg. eff. June 2, 1981.  Amended by Laws 2006, c. 123, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2006.