NEW ENGLAND POWER POOL

M.G.L. pt. Part I, tit. Title XXII, ch. c. 164A

in effect

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 1 Definitions

c. 164A, § 1. Definitions Section 1. The following words as used in this chapter shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the following meanings: ''Department'', the department of public utilities. ''Domestic electric utility'', an electric utility organized under the laws of, or having its principal place of business in the commonwealth, including the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for the purposes specified in chapter one hundred and sixty-one A. ''Electric power facilities'', or ''electric power facility'', generating units rated twenty-five megawatts or above and transmission facilities rated sixty-nine kilovolts or above which have been designated in writing as pool or pool-planned facilities under the New England power pool agreement, when provision is made for such designation in said agreement, and which, if to be financed in whole or in part under the provisions of sections eleven to twenty-two, inclusive, are approved by the department, after notice and opportunity for hearing, as consistent with the power needs of the commonwealth. A copy of the designation shall be placed on file with the department. ''Electric utility'', any individual or entity or subdivision thereof, private, governmental or other, including a municipal electric department, wherever resident or organized, primarily engaged in the generation and sale or the purchase and sale of electricity, or the transmission thereof, for ultimate consumption by the public. ''Foreign electric utility'', any electric utility other than a domestic electric utility. ''Member of the New England power pool'', an electric utility which is a participant in the New England power pool created by a New England power pool agreement. ''Municipal electric department'', an electric department or lighting plant of a city or town of the commonwealth, which department or plant is subject to the provisions of chapter one hundred sixty-four. Except where otherwise specifically provided, a municipal electric department may exercise any of its powers or authority contained in this chapter through its municipal light board. Before such a municipal electric department exercises any power under this chapter, this chapter shall be accepted by a majority vote, as defined in section one of chapter forty-four of the municipality. ''Municipal light board'', the municipal light board or commission, municipal gas and electric commission or similar body; the mayor or city manager, as the case may be, of a city having no such body; or the selectmen of a town having no such body. ''New England power pool agreement'', a contractual agreement between electric utilities which is open to all electric utilities operating in New England, which provides for cooperation and joint participation in developing and implementing a regional bulk power supply of electricity, which constitutes the central dispatching and primary pooling arrangement for electric utilities in the New England states, which has been signed by eligible electric utilities whose annual peak loads in the year preceding the year in which the agreement is executed aggregate more than seventy-five per cent of the annual peak loads for all of New England, and which has been placed on file with the department for informational purposes and permitted to become effective under the Federal Power Act by the Federal Power Commission. ''New England power pool'', the relationship or organization created by a New England power pool agreement.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 2 Agreement provisions authorized

c. 164A, § 2. Agreement provisions authorized Section 2. The New England power pool agreement may provide for, among other things: (a) the pooling of power; (b) coordination of planning, construction and operation and the manner of establishing and enforcing standards and other requirements; (c) delegation of authority to administrative committees; (d) amendments of the agreement by vote or other action of the participants or of committees in the manner specified therein, subject to the right of any participant to withdraw in the event of its nonconcurrence with an amendment; (e) appointment of representatives to act for one or more participants in regard to amendments and other matters; (f) the allocation of pool expenses among participants; (g) the provision of new, altered, improved or enlarged facilities by the participants subject to such proceedings as may be required by law for undertaking or financing any such project; (h) limitations on other actions by the participants which might be inconsistent with the agreement or might adversely affect its implementation; (i) arbitration; and (j) other matters deemed necessary or desirable in order to carry out the purpose of the agreement.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 3 Additional powers of member domestic electric utilities

c. 164A, § 3. Additional powers of member domestic electric utilities Section 3. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of any general or special law relating to the powers and authorities of domestic electric utilities or any limitation imposed by a corporate or municipal charter, but subject to the conditions set forth in this chapter, a domestic electric utility which is a member of the New England power pool shall, in connection with its participation in such pool, have the following additional powers: (a) jointly or separately to plan, finance, construct, purchase, operate, maintain, use, share costs of, own, mortgage, lease, sell, dispose of or otherwise participate in electric power facilities or portions thereof within or without the commonwealth or the product or service therefrom or securities issued in connection with the financing of electric power facilities or portions thereof; and (b) to enter into and perform contracts for such joint or separate planning, financing, construction, purchase, operation, maintenance, use, sharing costs of, ownership, mortgaging, leasing, sale, disposal of or other participation in electric power facilities, or portions thereof, within or without the commonwealth, or the product or service therefrom, or securities issued in connection with the financing of electric power facilities or portions thereof, including, without limitation, contracts for the payment of obligations imposed without regard to the operational status of a facility or facilities and contracts with domestic or foreign electric utilities for the sale or purchase of electricity from an electric power facility or facilities for long or short periods of time or for the life of a specific electric generating unit or units; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize a domestic electric utility to sell electricity at wholesale or retail within or without this commonwealth except (i) as otherwise authorized by or under its charter or the general or special laws of this commonwealth other than by this chapter; (ii) in connection with sales of economy, backup and other energy pursuant to a New England power pool agreement; and (iii) for any sale or sales of capacity and related energy from a specifically identified generating unit which is an electric power facility.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 4 Additional powers of member foreign electric utilities

c. 164A, § 4. Additional powers of member foreign electric utilities Section 4. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of any general or special law relating to the powers and authorities of foreign electric utilities, but subject to the conditions set forth in this chapter, a foreign electric utility which is a member of the New England power pool shall, in connection with its participation in such pool, have in addition the power jointly with one or more other electric utilities, including at least one domestic electric utility, to construct, purchase, operate, maintain, use, own, mortgage, lease, sell, dispose of or otherwise participate in electric power facilities or portions thereof within this commonwealth or the product or service therefrom; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize a foreign electric utility to sell electricity at wholesale or retail within this commonwealth except (i) as otherwise authorized by or under the general or special laws of this commonwealth other than by this chapter; (ii) in connection with sales of economy, backup and other energy pursuant to a New England power pool agreement; and (iii) for any sale or sales of capacity and related energy from a specifically identified generating unit which is an electric power facility.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 5 Acquisition or ownership of interests in electric power facilities; tenancy in common; surrender or waiver of right of partition; validity and enforceability

c. 164A, § 5. Acquisition or ownership of interests in electric power facilities; tenancy in common; surrender or waiver of right of partition; validity and enforceability Section 5. If any domestic or foreign electric utility acquires or owns an interest as a tenant in common with one or more other domestic or foreign electric utilities in any electric power facilities in this commonwealth, the surrender or waiver by any such owner of such property of its right to partition such property for a period not exceeding the period for which the property is used or useful for electric utility purposes shall not be invalid or unenforceable by reason of the length of such period, or as unduly restricting the alienation of such property.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 6 Contracts; term; effect of termination of pool or agreement; exclusion from municipal debt for borrowing purposes

c. 164A, § 6. Contracts; term; effect of termination of pool or agreement; exclusion from municipal debt for borrowing purposes Section 6. Contracts under sections three and four (i) may be for a term or for an indefinite period and shall, unless otherwise provided therein, not be deemed terminated or to have been unauthorized by reason of termination of the New England power pool or of any membership therein or invalidation of any of the provisions of the New England power pool agreement; (ii) may provide for the sale or other disposition of by-products of electric power facilities; and (iii) may contain provisions for arbitration, delegation and other matters deemed necessary or desirable to carry out their purposes. Any party, public or private, desiring to purchase or use by-products of electric power facilities may enter into contracts therefor for short or long terms. Subject to clause (i) of paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of section nine, the obligation of a city or town under contracts referred to in this section shall not be included in the debt of the city or town for the purpose of ascertaining its borrowing capacity.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 7 Assessment and taxation of foreign electric utilities

c. 164A, § 7. Assessment and taxation of foreign electric utilities Section 7. A foreign electric utility shall be subject to assessment and taxation in the same manner and to the same extent as is provided by law with respect to a corporation defined as an ''electric company'' in section one of chapter one hundred sixty-four; except that a foreign electric utility which is a governmental entity shall, with respect to payments for franchise taxes to the commonwealth plus any other taxes not covered by subsections (b) and (d) of section eight, make payments in lieu of such taxes in the manner provided by subsection (c) of said section eight.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 8 Taxation of municipal electric departments owning interests in electric power facilities; definitions; exemptions; payments in lieu of taxes; application of other laws

c. 164A, § 8. Taxation of municipal electric departments owning interests in electric power facilities; definitions; exemptions; payments in lieu of taxes; application of other laws Section 8. (a) Notwithstanding the definition of ''electric power facilities'' in section one, for the purposes of this section only, ''electric power facilities'' with respect to municipal electric departments shall mean generating units rated twenty-five megawatts or above and transmission facilities rated sixty-nine kilovolts or above which (i) have been designated as pool or pool-planned facilities under the New England power pool agreement or (ii) are financed in whole or in part under the provisions of sections eleven to twenty-two, inclusive, and with respect to foreign electric utilities which are governmental entities shall mean generating units rated twenty-five megawatts or above and transmission facilities rated sixty-nine kilovolts or above. For the purposes of this section no such designation under clause (i) shall be made except with the written consent, or upon written application, of the electric utility or utilities having primary responsibility for the construction or operation of the facility being so designated. The provisions of this section for payments in lieu of taxes shall not apply to electric power facilities constructed or substantially under construction by a municipal electric department prior to September thirtieth, nineteen hundred and seventy-three. Taxes and payments in lieu of taxes by municipal electric departments shall be treated as operating expenses except that taxes and payments in lieu of taxes with respect to the period prior to commercial operation of a facility may be treated by the municipal light board as construction costs. (b)(i) Interests in electric power facilities, real and personal, situated within the commonwealth and owned by any municipal electric department shall be exempt from property taxation, provided, however, that a municipal electric department which owns or has an interest in such electric power facilities shall, in lieu of property taxes, pay to any governmental body authorized to levy property taxes the amount which would be assessable as taxes on the real and personal property if such property were the property of a corporation defined as an ''electric company'' in section one of chapter one hundred sixty-four. Such payments shall be due, and bear interest if unpaid, as in the case of taxes on the property of such an ''electric company''. For purposes of such payments in lieu of taxes, the assessors of the taxing authority shall make a valuation and assessment of the property and determine the tax that would be assessable if such property were owned by a corporation so defined as an ''electric company''. Where property in respect to which in lieu payments are to be made hereunder is situated in a municipality that owns said property, any ten inhabitants of said municipality may, within three months after said assessment and determination, appeal the same to the appellate tax board or, if said municipality fails to make an assessment or determination or otherwise to collect the tax, may petition the superior court in equity for declaratory or other appropriate relief for failure to act as aforesaid. (ii) Payments in lieu of taxes made hereunder shall be treated in the same manner as taxes for purposes of all procedural and substantive provisions of law, including appeals, now and hereafter in effect applicable to assessment and taxation of real and personal property, collection and abatement of such taxes and the raising of public revenues. (c) There is hereby imposed on each municipal electric department an annual payment in lieu of taxes equal to the then equalization percentage of (A) the original cost less depreciation of its direct ownership interest in electric power facilities located within the commonwealth, excluding any portion thereof represented by any investment by others as described in (B), and (B) in the event a municipal electric department has an interest other than direct ownership described in (A), the amount of its investment less any amortization thereof through ownership of securities, prepayment or similar arrangements in such facilities under this chapter, all as at the end of the municipal electric department's last fiscal year. The equalization percentage shall be determined by the commissioner of corporations and taxation on or prior to July first of each year and shall be the percentage resulting from the fraction, the numerator of which shall be the aggregate amount paid in the preceding calendar year by all domestic electric utilities which are not municipal electric departments for franchise taxes paid to the commonwealth, plus any other taxes not covered by subsections (b) or (d) of this section paid to the commonwealth or any subdivision thereof and the denominator of which shall consist of the aggregate amount of net utility plant, as of the end of the preceding calendar year, of all domestic electric utilities which are not municipal electric departments; the amount of said taxes and net utility plant to be obtained by the commissioner from the annual reports for said preceding calendar year filed with the department of telecommunications and energy by said domestic electric utilities. If such taxes are reported for a period other than the calendar year, or if such net utility plant is reported as of a date other than the end of a calendar year, the commissioner shall use such period or date as is reasonable and practicable with such adjustments as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this section. In the event a municipal electric department uses a fiscal year longer or shorter than twelve months, the commissioner shall appropriately adjust the payment to be made under this section. Such payment is to be in lieu of a tax upon the franchise of the municipal electric department to own or operate directly or indirectly such electric power facilities and is to be in accordance with the following provisions: (1) Every municipal electric department subject to this section shall annually, on or before the fifteenth day of the third month following the close of its fiscal year, make a return to the commissioner of corporations and taxation sworn to by its manager, a majority of its commissioners, or in their absence or incapacity by any other principal officer, in such form as said commissioner with the approval of the state tax commission shall prescribe, stating such information as said commissioner may require for the determination of the payment imposed by this subsection. Said payment shall be due and payable on or before the due date of the return. (2) All provisions of chapter sixty-three relative to the assessment, collection, payment, abatement, verification and administration of taxes, including penalties, applicable to domestic business corporations, as defined in section thirty of chapter sixty-three, shall, so far as pertinent, be applicable to payments under this subsection. (3) All revenue collected under the provisions of this section shall be credited to the General Fund. (d) In connection with all sales, use, excise and other taxes imposed with respect to electric power facilities, materials included or to be included therein, or energy produced thereat and sold at wholesale therefrom under authority of this chapter, by any laws of the commonwealth and not covered by subsections (b) and (c), a municipal electric department participating in an electric power facility by ownership, prepayment or contract for purchase of capacity and related energy from a specifically identified generating unit shall be subject to payments in lieu of such taxes in the same manner and under the same procedures as a corporation defined as an ''electric company'' in section one of chapter one hundred sixty-four is subject to such taxes and shall be limited to only those exemptions as are available to such a corporation. (e) Legislative consent is hereby given to the application of the laws of other states with respect to taxation, payments in lieu of taxes, and the assessment thereof to any domestic electric utility which has acquired or has an interest in an electric power facility, real or personal, situated without the commonwealth, or which is owning or operating electric power facilities without the commonwealth pursuant to authority granted in this chapter.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 9 Application of other laws to pool members; rate base factors

c. 164A, § 9. Application of other laws to pool members; rate base factors Section 9. (a) Except as otherwise expressly provided in this chapter, a domestic electric utility shall not be exempt from nor lose the benefits of any applicable laws of the commonwealth solely by reason of being a member of the New England power pool. (b)(1) In addition to those sections of chapter one hundred sixty-four already applicable to a city or town owning or acquiring a municipal electric department, there shall be applicable to any municipal electric department which acquires or is acquiring or has any interest in an electric power facility, and so long as it retains such interest in such facility or has outstanding notes or bonds issued under this chapter, the following additional sections of said chapter: fourteen, seventeen A, seventy-one, seventy-two, seventy-two A, seventy-three, seventy-four, seventy-five, seventy-six, eighty-seven, eighty-eight, ninety and ninety-one; provided, however, that: (i) section fourteen of chapter one hundred sixty-four shall be applicable only if the financing consists of revenue bonds or notes in anticipation thereof, issued pursuant to sections eleven to twenty-two, inclusive; except with respect to refunding bonds issued under section twenty-one, the department in rendering its decision shall, in addition to the other requirements of said section fourteen of said chapter one hundred sixty-four, approve only such issue as the department finds is appropriate to finance an electric power facility necessary to supply the load plus reserve requirements created by the municipal electric department's retail customers, and by such wholesale customers as may have existed on April first, nineteen hundred and seventy-three, said load plus reserve requirements to be forecast by the department at a time three years beyond the scheduled date for commencement of commercial operation of the facility; in evaluating the ability of the municipal electric department to supply its load plus reserve requirements at said time, the department shall deduct from these requirements all capacity in other generating units to which the municipal electric department will then be entitled by ownership or contract, including any contracts for the purchase of electricity to be in force at said time; (ii) the provisions of sections forty to sixty-nine, inclusive, of chapter one hundred sixty-four shall continue to be applicable to any such municipal electric department except insofar as such provisions are inconsistent with other provisions of this chapter or of chapter one hundred sixty-four herein made applicable to such municipal electric department; (iii) any law, municipal by-law or ordinance relating to contracts awarded by municipal electric departments for construction, reconstruction, alteration, remodeling, repair, demolition, equipment, supplies or materials shall not be applicable to contracts related to electric power facilities wherever the utility or utilities having primary responsibility for the construction or operation of the facility are not municipal electric departments; (iv) the provisions of sections seventy-one to seventy-four, inclusive, seventy-six, eighty-seven, eighty-eight, ninety and ninety-one of chapter one hundred sixty-four shall be applicable to municipal electric departments only with respect to electric power facilities; provided, however, that under section seventy-two of said chapter one hundred sixty-four a municipal electric department shall be not authorized to take by eminent domain any lands or interest therein of another electric utility except to the same extent that an ''electric company'', as defined in section one of said chapter one hundred sixty-four, may have such authority; and (v) the provisions of section seventy-five of chapter one hundred sixty-four shall be applicable to electric power facilities outside the retail territory of the municipal electric department only. (2) Sections twenty-one to twenty-two N, inclusive, and twenty-five to forty-one, inclusive, of chapter one hundred sixty-six shall, to the extent not otherwise applicable to a municipal electric department, be applicable to such electric department only with respect to electric power facilities. (c) Legislative consent is hereby given to the application, pursuant to authority granted in this chapter, or regulatory and other laws of other states and of the United States to any domestic electric utility which owns or operates electric power facilities without the commonwealth. (d) In addition to ownership, sole or joint, in electric power facilities, the department shall include in the rate base of a domestic electric utility any investments, including securities, prepayments, retained earnings or other investments, acquired by it in connection with its participation in an electric power facility.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 10 Foreign electric utilities; ownership or operation of electric power facilities in commonwealth; notice, annual report and information to department; financing; application of laws

c. 164A, § 10. Foreign electric utilities; ownership or operation of electric power facilities in commonwealth; notice, annual report and information to department; financing; application of laws Section 10. (a) Each foreign electric utility which is acting pursuant to authority granted in this chapter shall, before owning or operating any electric power facilities in this commonwealth, notify the department of the action to be taken by it; shall thereafter furnish to the department annually a copy of the annual report filed by it with the utility regulatory agency of the state of its domicile or principal locus; and shall furnish to the department from time to time such other information with respect to its activities in the commonwealth as the department may reasonable request. (b) Any foreign electric utility which owns or operates any electric power facility in this commonwealth shall (1) be subject to sections three, three A and four of chapter one hundred eighty-one as to matters arising out of such ownership or operation and (2) as to a foreign electric utility other than a governmental entity be further subject to the requirements of chapter one hundred sixty-four and other regulatory laws within the commonwealth with respect to any financing of its interest in such electric power facility, including any borrowing or the issuance of any notes, bonds or other evidence of indebtedness or securities of any nature, provided, however, that it shall be exempt from such further requirements of this clause (2) upon certification filed with the department by a regulatory commission of the state of domicile or principal locus of such foreign electric utility, or of the United States, that said commission has regulatory jurisdiction over financing of such foreign electric utility.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 11 Revenue bonds for project costs; interim receipts or temporary bonds; issuance; agreement for consolidation of indebtedness by participating municipalities authorized

c. 164A, § 11. Revenue bonds for project costs; interim receipts or temporary bonds; issuance; agreement for consolidation of indebtedness by participating municipalities authorized Section 11. (a) Any city or town which is a member of the New England power pool, acting by its municipal light board, when authorized by a two-thirds vote as defined in section one of chapter forty-four, may, subject to the approval of the department under this chapter, borrow money by the issue of its revenue bonds for project costs, or its share of project costs, of electric power facilities scheduled for commencement of commercial operation after January first, nineteen hundred and seventy-five. Such project costs may include all costs, whether incurred prior to or after the issue of bonds or notes hereunder, of acquisition, site development, construction, improvement, enlargement, reconstruction, alteration, machinery, equipment, furnishings, nuclear fuel, demolition or removal of existing buildings or structures, including the cost of acquiring any lands to which such buildings or structures may be moved, financing charges, interest prior to and during the carrying out of any project and for a reasonable period thereafter, planning, engineering, finance advisory and legal services, administrative expenses, prepayments under contracts made pursuant to section three or four, the funding of notes issued for project costs as hereinafter provided, such reserves for debt service or other capital or current expenses as may be required by a trust agreement or resolution securing notes or bonds, and all other expenses incidental to the determination of the feasibility of any project or to carrying out the project or to placing the project in operation. (b) The bonds of each issue shall mature at a time or times not exceeding forty years from their dates of issue and may be made redeemable before maturity with or without premiums. Subject to the provisions of this chapter and to the terms of the department's approval and of the authorizing vote, the board shall determine the date or dates of the bonds, their denomination or denominations, the place or places of payment of the principal and interest, which may be at any bank or trust company within or without the commonwealth, their interest rate or rates, maturity or maturities, redemption privileges, if any, and the form and other details of the bonds. The bonds shall be signed by the city or town treasurer, shall be countersigned by the mayor or city manager, as the case may be, of a city or by a majority of the selectmen of a town either manually or by facsimile, and shall bear the seal of the city or town or a facsimile thereof. Any coupons attached thereto shall bear the facsimile signature of the city or town treasurer. (c) In case any officer whose signature or a facsimile of whose signature shall appear on any bonds, coupons or notes issued under this chapter shall cease to be such officer before the delivery thereof, such signature or such facsimile shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes the same as if he had remained in office until after such delivery. (d) The bonds may be issued in coupon or in registered form, or both, and provision may be made for the registration of any coupon bonds as to principal alone and also as to both principal and interest, for the reconversion into coupon bonds of bonds registered as to both principal and interest, and for the interchange of registered and coupon bonds. Subject to the provisions of this chapter and to the terms of the department's approval and of the authorizing vote, the board may sell the bonds in such manner, either at public or private sale, and for such price, as it may determine will best effect the purposes of this chapter. (e) Prior to the preparation of definitive bonds, the city or town may issue interim receipts or temporary bonds, with or without coupons, exchangeable for definitive bonds when such bonds shall have been executed and are available for delivery. (f) Upon the votes of two or more municipalities authorizing the issue of revenue bonds in conformity with the provisions of this chapter, including approval of the department as to each of said municipalities, or notes in anticipation thereof, for project costs of the same facilities, said municipalities may enter into an agreement for the consolidation of the indebtedness so authorized and the issuance of such revenue bonds, or notes in anticipation thereof, by one such municipality on behalf of itself and one or more others if the authorizing votes provide for such consolidation. The agreement for consolidation shall require the participating municipalities, severally and not jointly, to provide the funds necessary to pay their respective shares of the principal and interest on the bonds or notes so issued. Such obligation of each participating municipality shall be payable solely from the funds provided therefor under this chapter and may be secured in the same manner as bonds or notes issued separately by it under this chapter. (g) Bonds or notes issued under this chapter by a member of the New England power pool shall not be deemed to have been unauthorized by reason of any invalidation of any of the provisions of the New England power pool agreement.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 12 Borrowing in anticipation of bonds; temporary notes; issuance by city or town

c. 164A, § 12. Borrowing in anticipation of bonds; temporary notes; issuance by city or town Section 12. In anticipation of the authorization or issue of bonds under this chapter, and subject to the approval of the department under this chapter, a city or town subject to this chapter, acting by its municipal light board, when authorized by a two-thirds vote as defined in section one of chapter forty-four, may issue temporary notes. Subject to the terms of the department's approval and of the authorizing vote, the board may provide for the sale of the notes at public or private sale and may determine the interest rate or rates, maturity or maturities, redemption privileges, if any, form, denomination or denominations and place or places of payment or provide for the determination thereof by an officer or officers of the board or of the city or town. Temporary notes issued hereunder shall be executed in the manner provided herein for bonds and shall be payable within six years from their respective dates, but the principal of and interest on notes issued for a shorter period may be renewed or paid from time to time by the issue of other notes under this chapter, provided the period from the date of issue of an original note to the maturity of any note issued to renew or pay the same debt or the interest thereon shall not exceed six years. Unless otherwise provided in the authorizing vote or in the approval of the department, the board may cause notes to be refunded to the extent provided in this chapter. To the extent of any borrowing in anticipation of bonds, the maximum maturity of an equivalent amount of the bonds shall be measured from the date of the anticipatory borrowing.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 13 Resolutions or trust agreements securing bonds or notes; provisions; limitations; deposit, investment and application of proceeds; pledges

c. 164A, § 13. Resolutions or trust agreements securing bonds or notes; provisions; limitations; deposit, investment and application of proceeds; pledges Section 13. (a) In the discretion of the board, but subject to the terms of the department's approval and of the authorizing vote, any bonds or notes issued hereunder may be secured by a resolution of the board or by a trust agreement between the city or town and a corporate trustee, which may be any trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company within the commonwealth and such trust agreement shall be in such form and executed in such manner as may be determined by the board. Such trust agreement or resolution may pledge or assign, in whole or in part, the revenues and other moneys derived or to be derived by the city or town from its electric department or system and any contract or other rights to receive the same, whether then existing or thereafter coming into existence and whether then held or thereafter acquired by the city or town, and the proceeds thereof, but shall not convey or mortgage the plant or any part thereof. Such trust agreement or resolution may contain, with respect to the electric plant and its finances, such provisions for protecting and enforcing the rights, security and remedies of the bondholders or noteholders as may be reasonable and proper and not in violation of law, including without limiting the generality of the foregoing provisions defining defaults and providing for remedies in the event thereof which may include the acceleration of maturities and covenants setting forth duties of, and limitations on, the city or town in relation to the acquisition, construction, improvement, enlargement, alteration, equipping, furnishing, maintenance, use, operation, repair, insurance and disposition of property, the custody, safeguarding, investment and application of moneys, the issue of additional bonds or notes, the fixing, revision and collection of fees and charges, the obligations of the city or town to pay for electricity used by it, the use of any surplus bond or note proceeds, the establishment of reserves, and the replacement of bonds, notes or coupons which shall become mutilated or be destroyed or lost. Such trust agreement or resolution may provide for the payment of debt service on general obligation bonds and notes issued by the city or town for electric purposes from the revenues or other moneys so pledged, either on a parity with any or all bonds and notes issued hereunder or otherwise. Subject to the provisions of this chapter, moneys subject to the trust agreement or resolution shall be held, invested and applied as provided therein, provided that moneys not deposited in trust with a corporate trustee shall be in the custody of the city or town treasurer. Moneys to be applied pursuant to the trust agreement or resolution shall be deemed appropriated for the purposes to which they are to be so applied. (b) It shall be lawful for any bank or trust company to act as a depository or trustee of the proceeds of bonds or notes or of revenues or other moneys under any such trust agreement or resolution and to furnish such indemnifying bonds or to pledge such securities as may be required by the trust agreement or resolution. Any such trust agreement or resolution may set forth the rights and remedies of the bondholders or noteholders and of the trustee, and may restrict the individual right of action by bondholders or noteholders. All expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of such trust agreement or resolution may be treated as current operating expenses. Debt service on bonds and notes issued hereunder and sums required to be reserved from revenues pursuant to such trust agreement or resolution shall, to the extent not otherwise provided, be included in the requirements of the sinking fund or serial debt of the plant for the purposes of sections fifty-seven and fifty-eight of chapter one hundred sixty-four, provided that sums so reserved for renewals in excess of ordinary repairs, extensions, reconstruction, enlargements and additions shall be in lieu of an equivalent allowance for depreciation. The pledge by any such trust agreement or resolution shall be valid and binding and shall be deemed continuously perfected for the purposes of the Uniform Commercial Code from the time when the pledge is made; the revenues, moneys, rights and proceeds so pledged and then held or thereafter acquired or received by the city or town shall immediately be subject to the lien of such pledge without any physical delivery or segregation thereof or further act; and the lien of any such pledge shall be valid and binding as against all parties having claims of any kind in tort, contract or otherwise against the city or town, irrespective of whether such parties have notice thereof. Neither the resolution nor any trust agreement by which a pledge is created need be filed or recorded except in the records of the board, and no filing need be made under the Uniform Commercial Code.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 14 Proceeds of bonds or notes issued and moneys governed by trust agreement or resolution; deposit or investment

c. 164A, § 14. Proceeds of bonds or notes issued and moneys governed by trust agreement or resolution; deposit or investment Section 14. Subject to the trust agreement or resolution, the proceeds of bonds or notes issued under this chapter and any other moneys governed by the trust agreement or resolution may be deposited or invested in demand deposits, time deposits or savings deposits in banks which are members of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or in obligations issued or guaranteed by the United States of America or by any agency or instrumentality thereof or as may be provided by any other applicable law.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 15 Bonds and notes issued; payment; liability of city or town limited; exclusion from municipal debt for borrowing purposes

c. 164A, § 15. Bonds and notes issued; payment; liability of city or town limited; exclusion from municipal debt for borrowing purposes Section 15. The bonds and notes issued under this chapter shall be payable solely from the funds provided therefor under this chapter, the liability of the city or town from other funds being limited to obligations undertaken by it to pay for the electricity used by it, and a statement to this effect shall be included on the face of such bonds and notes. Subject to the provisions of clause (i) of paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of section nine, the bonds and notes and such obligations shall not at any time be included in the debt of the city or town for the purpose of ascertaining its borrowing capacity.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 16 Receipts of city or town under this chapter to be held and applied in trust

c. 164A, § 16. Receipts of city or town under this chapter to be held and applied in trust Section 16. All moneys received by the city or town under this chapter shall be deemed to be trust funds to be held and applied solely as provided in this chapter.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 17 Actions and proceedings upon bonds and notes

c. 164A, § 17. Actions and proceedings upon bonds and notes Section 17. Any holder of bonds or notes issued under this chapter, or of any of the coupons appertaining thereto, and the trustee under a trust agreement or resolution securing the same, except to the extent the rights herein given may be restricted by such trust agreement or resolution, may bring suit upon the bonds, notes or coupons and may, either at law or in equity, by suit, action, mandamus or other proceedings, protect and enforce any and all rights under the laws of the commonwealth or granted under this chapter or under such trust agreement or resolution, and may enforce and compel the performance of all duties required by this chapter or by such trust agreement or resolution to be performed by the city or town or by any officer thereof.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 18 Bonds and notes issued as legal investments

c. 164A, § 18. Bonds and notes issued as legal investments Section 18. Bonds and notes issued under this chapter are hereby made securities in which all public officers and public bodies of the commonwealth and its political subdivisions, all insurance companies, trust companies in their commercial departments, investment companies, executors, administrators, trustees and other fiduciaries may properly and legally invest funds, including capital in their control or belonging to them, and such bonds and notes are hereby made obligations which may properly and legally be made eligible for the investment of savings deposits and the income therefrom in the manner provided by paragraph two of section fifty of chapter one hundred sixty-eight. Such bonds and notes are hereby made securities which may properly and legally be deposited with and received by any state or municipal officer or any agency or political subdivision of the commonwealth for any purpose for which the deposit of bonds or obligations of the commonwealth is now or may hereafter be authorized by law.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 19 Bonds and notes deemed investment securities

c. 164A, § 19. Bonds and notes deemed investment securities Section 19. Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this chapter or any recitals in any bonds and notes issued under this chapter, all such bonds and notes shall be deemed to be investment securities under the Uniform Commercial Code.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 20 Bonds and notes issued; transfer, income or profit; tax exemption

c. 164A, § 20. Bonds and notes issued; transfer, income or profit; tax exemption Section 20. The bonds and notes issued under this chapter, their transfer and the income therefrom, including any profit made on the sale thereof, shall at all times be free from taxation within the commonwealth.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 21 Refunding bonds; issuance authorized; restrictions

c. 164A, § 21. Refunding bonds; issuance authorized; restrictions Section 21. Any city or town having bonds outstanding under this chapter, acting by its municipal light board, when authorized by a two-thirds vote as defined in section one of chapter forty-four, may issue refunding bonds for the purpose of paying bonds issued by it or on its behalf under sections eleven to twenty-two, inclusive, at maturity or upon acceleration or redemption, subject to the approval of the department under this chapter. The refunding bonds may be issued in sufficient amounts to pay or provide the principal of the bonds being refunded, together with any redemption premium thereon, any interest accrued or to accrue to the date of payment of such bonds, the expenses of issue of the refunding bonds, the expenses of redeeming the bonds being refunded, and such reserves for debt service or other capital or current expenses from the proceeds of such refunding bonds as may be required by a trust agreement or resolution securing bonds or notes. The refunding bonds may be issued not more than five years prior to the maturity or redemption date of bonds being refunded. The issue of refunding bonds, the maturities and other details thereof, the security therefor, the rights of the holders thereof, and the rights, duties and obligations of the city or town in respect of the same shall be governed by the provisions of this chapter relating to the issue of bonds other than refunding bonds insofar as the same may be applicable, but no bonds shall be refunded to a date later than the refunded bonds could have matured hereunder.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 22 Bonds and notes; issuance authorized

c. 164A, § 22. Bonds and notes; issuance authorized Section 22. Bonds and notes may be issued under this chapter without the consent of any department, division, commission or agency of the commonwealth or of any political subdivision thereof and without any other proceedings or the happening of any other conditions or things than those proceedings, conditions or things which are specifically required therefor by this chapter. The provisions of this chapter authorizing the issue of bonds and notes shall not be deemed to preclude the issue of bonds and notes under any other authority.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 23 Zoning regulations; exemption of facilities used by electric utilities

c. 164A, § 23. Zoning regulations; exemption of facilities used by electric utilities Section 23. For the purposes of section ten of chapter forty A, an electric power facility located within the commonwealth and used or to be used by one or more domestic or foreign electric utilities pursuant to authority set forth in this chapter shall be considered a building, structure or land used or to be used by a public service corporation and each such utility shall be considered a public service corporation.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 24 Transmission lines of electric utilities; petition for authority to construct, use or take rights of way by eminent domain authorized

c. 164A, § 24. Transmission lines of electric utilities; petition for authority to construct, use or take rights of way by eminent domain authorized Section 24. Lines for transmission of electricity which are electric power facilities, as defined in section one, shall, irrespective of the destination of the electricity to be transmitted thereover, be lines for the transmission of electricity for which an electric utility may petition under section seventy-two of chapter one hundred sixty-four for authority to construct and use, or continue to use, or to take by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine lands, or rights-of-way or widenings thereof.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 25 Ownership or control of domestic electric utilities by foreign corporations; applicability of corporation law

c. 164A, § 25. Ownership or control of domestic electric utilities by foreign corporations; applicability of corporation law Section 25. A domestic electric utility shall not be subject to the provisions of section ten of chapter one hundred eight-one in the event a foreign corporation, as defined in said chapter, owns or controls a majority of the capital stock of said domestic electric utility, provided such ownership or control results from action pursuant to authority granted by this chapter.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 26 Municipal electric departments; application of chapter

c. 164A, § 26. Municipal electric departments; application of chapter Section 26. With respect to municipal electric departments, this chapter shall be applicable only to such municipal electric departments as were in existence on January first, nineteen hundred and seventy-three, and to such additional municipal electric departments created after that date which comply with the following provisions: (a) Such an additional municipal electric department shall first acquire or construct a plant for the generation, transmission or distribution of electricity only after the department, after notice and opportunity for hearing, shall have found that such acquisition or construction and the terms thereof to be consistent with the public interest and that the facilities for furnishing and distributing electricity in the territory to be served by such municipal electric department would not be diminished thereby; and (b) The two votes required by section thirty-five or thirty-six of chapter one hundred sixty-four shall have been at meetings held not less than twelve months apart nor more than twenty-four months apart.

M.G.L. c. 164A, § 27 Construction of chapter

c. 164A, § 27. Construction of chapter Section 27. This chapter shall be construed in all respects so as to meet all constitutional requirements. Except as expressly provided herein, the provisions of this chapter shall not affect the interpretation of other laws. If any provision of this chapter shall be held unconstitutional, such unconstitutionality shall not affect any other provisions, except as hereinafter set forth in this section. In the event it is finally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction that a municipal electric department is not subject, with respect to any electric power facilities financed under sections eleven to twenty-two, inclusive, to payments in lieu of taxes under paragraphs (b), (c) or (d) of section eight by reason of the unconstitutionality of any of said paragraphs, or that the borrowing limitation set forth in clause (i) of paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of section nine is unconstitutional, the municipal electric department involved shall, and any person may, file written notice of such decision with the department. Such notice shall include a statement that it is filed pursuant to this section. After such a filing the department shall not have any further authority to approve the issue of bonds under this chapter except (i) where it finds that any electric utility has, prior to such filing, undertaken substantial expense or liability in expectation of such bond financing, or (ii) where notes have been issued, prior to such a filing, under sections eleven to twenty-two, inclusive, in anticipation of revenue bonds.

Source: Massachusetts General Court (malegislature.gov)URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXII/Chapter164AFetched: 10/20/2026