2018 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 62 - Electric, Gas and Water Utilities
Article 15 - Rural Electric Cooperatives
Section 62-15-3 - Powers.

A cooperative shall have power to:

A. sue and be sued, complain and defend, in its corporate name;

B. have perpetual existence by its corporate name;

C. adopt a corporate seal and alter the same at pleasure, and to use the seal by causing it or a facsimile of it to be impressed or affixed or in any other manner reproduced; but failure to have or to affix a corporate seal does not affect the validity of any instrument or any action taken in pursuance of or in reliance on any instrument;

D. own, operate, lease or control plant, property and facilities for the generation, transmission or distribution, sale or furnishing of electricity for light, heat or power or other uses; and to generate, manufacture, purchase, acquire, accumulate and transmit electric energy; and to distribute, sell, supply and dispose of electric energy in rural areas to or for its members, governmental agencies and political subdivisions and the general public;

E. 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 electric and plumbing fixtures, appliances, apparatus and equipment of any kind 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 type of security therefor; and to lend money for its corporate purposes, invest and reinvest its funds; and to take and hold real and personal property as security for the payment of funds so loaned or invested;

F. 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;

G. purchase, take, receive, subscribe for or otherwise acquire, own, hold, vote, exercise rights arising out of the ownership or possession thereof, use, employ, sell, assign, transfer, convey, mortgage, lend, pledge, hypothecate or otherwise dispose of and otherwise use and deal in and with shares, rights, memberships or other interests in, or notes, bonds, debentures, mortgages, passbooks, certificates of deposit or other obligations of, other domestic or foreign corporations, associations, partnerships, limited partnerships or individuals, or direct or indirect obligations or securities of individuals, associations, cooperatives, partnerships, corporations or of the United States or of any other government, state, territory, governmental district or municipality or of any instrumentality thereof;

H. construct, purchase, take, receive, lease as lessee or otherwise acquire, and to own, hold, improve, 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, property, buildings, structures, dams, plants and equipment and any kind and class of real or personal property which shall be deemed necessary, convenient or appropriate to accomplish the purpose for which the cooperative is organized;

I. 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;

J. make contracts and guarantees and incur liabilities, borrow money at such rates of interest as the board of trustees shall determine and otherwise contract indebtedness, and to issue its notes, bonds and other evidences of indebtedness therefor, and to secure the payment of any thereof by mortgage, pledge, deed of trust, assignment, security agreement or any other hypothecation or encumbrance upon any or all of its then-owned or after-acquired real or personal property, assets, franchises, revenues or income;

K. 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 and bridges, and upon, under and across all publicly owned property;

L. exercise the power of eminent domain in the manner provided by the Eminent Domain Code [42A-1-1 NMSA 1978] for the exercise of that power by corporations constructing or operating electric transmission and distribution lines or systems;

M. conduct its business, carry on its operations, have offices and exercise the powers granted by the Rural Electric Cooperative Act in any state, territory, district or possession of the United States or in any foreign country;

N. adopt, amend and repeal bylaws consistent with the Rural Electric Cooperative Act and the Public Utility Act [Chapter 62, Articles 1 through 6 and 8 through 13 NMSA 1978];

O. make donations for the public welfare or for charitable, scientific or educational purposes, and in time of war to make donations in aid of war activities;

P. transact any lawful business in aid of governmental policy;

Q. subject to any limitations set forth in the articles of incorporation or bylaws, do such other and further acts and undertake such other and further activities and transactions for the mutual benefit of its members and patrons as may be done and undertaken by a corporation organized under the Business Corporation Act [Chapter 53, Articles 11 through 18 NMSA 1978] for the same or any additional lawful purpose, including the indemnification of and the procurement of insurance for present and former trustees, officers, employees and agents of the cooperative as if trustees and members were directors and shareholders respectively;

R. pay pensions and establish pension plans, pension trusts, bonus plans, health insurance plans, savings plans and any other incentive plans or employee relation plans customarily used by broadly held corporations for its trustees, officers and employees, or for its employees alone;

S. cease its corporate activities and surrender its corporate franchise; and

T. do and perform all other acts and things and have and exercise all other powers which may be necessary, convenient or appropriate to accomplish the purpose for which the cooperative is organized, to effectuate the powers set forth in this section and to accept all the burdens and exercise all the benefits which apply to public utilities under the laws of New Mexico.

History: Laws 1939, ch. 47, § 3; 1941 Comp., § 48-403; 1953 Comp., § 45-4-3; Laws 1967, ch. 102, § 2; 1971, ch. 8, § 1; 1981, ch. 125, § 51; 1987, ch. 36, § 2.

Cross references. — For excavation damage to pipelines and underground utility lines, see 62-14-1 to 62-14-8 NMSA 1978.

The 1987 amendment, effective June 19, 1987, in Subsection P, substituted the present provisions for "in time of war transact any lawful business in aid of the United States in the prosecution of the war"; substituted the present provisions of Subsection Q for the provisions set out in the 1984 Replacement Pamphlet; and made minor changes in language and punctuation throughout the section.

Scope of service. — Prior to the 1967 amendment to Subsection D, a rural electric cooperative could only supply electric energy to its members, to governmental agencies and political subdivisions and to other persons not in excess of 10% of the number of its members. Socorro Elec. Coop. v. Pub. Serv. Co., 1959-NMSC-105, 66 N.M. 343, 348 P.2d 88.

Power of eminent domain. A corporation organized for the primary purpose of supplying electric power or energy to rural areas on a cooperative basis, although organized under the laws of another state and resulting from an interstate merger, is a rural electric cooperative under the Rural Electric Cooperative Act, and thus has the power of eminent domain under 62-15-14 NMSA 1978. Tri-State Generation & Transmission Ass'n v. King, 2003-NMSC-029, 134 N.M. 467, 78 P.3d 1226.

Premature action. — Action by cooperative seeking to enjoin municipality from acquiring electric distribution and transmission lines outside of corporate limits where cooperative held prior franchise was brought prematurely since it did not yet own plant or transmission lines and could not show basis for equitable relief. Sierra Elec. Coop., Inc. v. Town of Hot Springs, 1947-NMSC-022, 51 N.M. 150, 180 P.2d 244.

Powers of county commissioners over use of roads by utilities. 1973 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 73-26.

Law reviews. — For article, "Statutory Adoption of Several Liability in New Mexico: A Commentary and Quasi-Legislative History," see 18 N.M.L. Rev. 483 (1988).

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 18 Am. Jur. 2d Cooperative Associations §§ 30 to 32.

43 C.J.S. Industrial Cooperative Societies §§ 5, 6.