O.C.G.A. § 46-3-200 (2019)
Purposes of electric membership corporations
An electric membership corporation may serve any one or more of the following purposes:
(1) Furnish electrical energy and service;
(2) Assist its members in the efficient and economical use of energy;
(3) Engage in research and promote and develop energy conservation and sources and methods of conserving, producing, converting, and delivering energy;
(4) Provide and operate broadband facilities and provide and use the broadband services described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (8.1) of Code Section 46-3-171;
(5) Furnish on a nondiscriminatory basis the broadband services described in subparagraphs (C) and (D) of paragraph (8.1) of Code Section 46-3-171;
(6) Form, fund, support, and operate a broadband affiliate, directly or indirectly, contingent upon compliance with Code Sections 46-5-163 and 46-3-200.2; and
(7) Engage in any lawful act or activity necessary or convenient to effect the foregoing purposes.
History
(Ga. L. 1937, p. 644, § 3; Code 1933, § 34C-201, enacted by Ga. L. 1981, p. 1587, § 1; Ga. L. 2019, p. 226, § 2/SB 2.)
Annotations
The 2019 amendment, effective April 26, 2019, rewrote this Code section, which read: "An electric membership corporation may serve any one or more of the following purposes:
"(1) To furnish electrical energy and service;
"(2) To assist its members in the efficient and economical use of energy;
"(3) To engage in research and to promote and develop energy conservation and sources and methods of conserving, producing, converting, and delivering energy; and
"(4) To engage in any lawful act or activity necessary or convenient to effect the foregoing purposes."
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
Qualifications of nonprofit electric membership corporation. - If the entire benefit of the sole enterprise upon which the electric membership corporation was empowered by its charter to enter inures to the general public and no profit or improvement of the economic condition or desires of its stockholders or members was contemplated, the corporation could not be said to be in business within the contemplation of former Code 1933, § 94-1101 (see O.C.G.A. § 46-1-2), but a corporation whose stockholders, by whatever name they may be designated, derive from the transaction of the business a profit in money or improvement in their economic conditions and desires was engaged in business within the contemplation of the above mentioned section, and was subject to the jurisdiction of the courts, under the same rules of practice that other electric corporations were. Lamar Elec. Membership Corp. v. Carroll, 89 Ga. App. 440, 79 S.E.2d 832 (1953).
It is not required that a transmission line serve more than one member. Hagans v. Excelsior Elec. Membership Corp., 207 Ga. 53, 60 S.E.2d 162 (1950).
Fact that property used as resort does not prevent owner from becoming member. - The fact that an applicant's property is used for a fishing camp or pleasure resort, and not as a farm home, permanent dwelling, or place of business, does not prevent the applicant becoming a member of the corporation and receiving electric service, or the corporation from furnishing electric energy to the applicant. Hagans v. Excelsior Elec. Membership Corp., 207 Ga. 53, 60 S.E.2d 162 (1950).
Sale of satellite dishes. - An electric membership corporation must require a consumer to be a member of that EMC before the EMC can sell a satellite dish to the consumer. Washington Elec. Membership Corp. v. Avant, 256 Ga. 340, 348 S.E.2d 647 (1986).
Sale of propane gas. - An electric membership corporation was not authorized to sell propane gas to its customers. Flint Elec. Membership Corp. v. Barrow, 271 Ga. 636, 523 S.E.2d 10 (1999).
Liability for punitive damages. - An electric membership corporation has power under O.C.G.A. § 46-3-200 to sue and be sued, and there is no statutory exemption from liability for punitive damages. Walton Elec. Membership Corp. v. Snyder, 270 Ga. 62, 508 S.E.2d 167 (1998).
Standing to claim tax refund. - Electrical membership corporation lacked direct standing to pursue a claim for a refund of sales tax on behalf of its members/patrons, pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 48-2-35(b)(1), as it was not a "taxpayer" within O.C.G.A. § 48-2-35(b)(4) for purposes of bringing an action for a tax refund as it did not bear the burden of the tax because the tax was passed on to its members/patrons; one purpose of the EMC was to furnish electrical energy and service to its members, pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 46-3-200(1), and the sale of electricity required a retail sales tax paid to the EMC, which was passed onto the Georgia Commission of Revenue, pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 48-8-30(a). Sawnee Elec. Mbrshp. Corp. v. Ga. Dep't of Revenue, 279 Ga. 22, 608 S.E.2d 611 (2005).
Mandamus unavailable for nominee seeking to serve on electric membership corporation. - Trial court erred by granting a nominee's writ of mandamus because, under O.C.G.A. § 9-6-23, mandamus did not lie to enforce purely private contract rights and the nominee's efforts to be qualified as a person to sit on the board of an electric membership corporation was a private right as board members were not public officers within the meaning of O.C.G.A. § 9-6-20. Rigby v. Boatright, 294 Ga. 253, 751 S.E.2d 851 (2013).
Cited in Flint Elec. Membership Corp. v. Posey, 78 Ga. App. 597, 51 S.E.2d 869 (1949); Georgia Power Co. v. Okefenokee Rural Elec. Membership Corp., 217 Ga. 219, 121 S.E.2d 777 (1961); Georgia Power Co. v. Altamaha Rural Elec. Membership Corp., 217 Ga. 376, 122 S.E.2d 250 (1961); Georgia Power Co. v. Oconee Elec. Membership Corp., 219 Ga. 690, 135 S.E.2d 328 (1964).
RESEARCH REFERENCES
Am. Jur. 2d. - 27A Am. Jur. 2d, Energy and Power Sources, §§ 14, 15, 34, 43.
C.J.S. - 29 C.J.S., Electricity, §§ 10-15.