§831i Sale of surplus power; preferences; experimental work; acquisition of existing electric facilities

Summary

The Board may sell extra electricity that it does not use for its own work, including power for locks and other projects. It can sign contracts to sell that power for up to twenty years. When selling, the Board should favor States, counties, cities, and nonprofit cooperatives that serve their members. Contracts that let private companies buy power to resell for profit must let the Board cancel the contract with five years’ written notice if the Board needs that power for public governments. The Board can include rules in contracts, like resale price schedules, and a contract can be ended if the buyer breaks those rules. The Board may build transmission lines to farms and small villages nearby to help them get electricity at fair rates. It must study and test ways to expand farm, home, and small-industry use of electric power and may work with State agencies, schools, research groups, and cooperatives. The Board can buy existing electric facilities that serve those farms and villages. The words “States,” “counties,” and “municipalities” also cover their public agencies unless stated otherwise.