The powers of an agency shall include the power:

(1) To plan, develop, construct, reconstruct, operate, manage, dispose of, participate in, maintain, repair, extend, improve, or acquire by purchase, gift, lease, or otherwise, one or more projects within or outside this state and act as agent, or designate one or more other persons to act as its agent, in connection with the planning, acquisition, construction, operation, maintenance, repair, extension, or improvement of such project, except that before any power project is constructed by an agency, approval of the power project shall have been obtained from the Nebraska Power Review Board under sections 70-1012 to 70-1016 ;

(2) To produce, acquire, sell, and distribute commodities, including, without limitation, fuels necessary to the ownership, use, operation, or maintenance of one or more projects;

(3) To enter into franchises, exchange, interchange, pooling, wheeling, transmission, and other similar agreements;

(4) To make and execute contracts and other instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers of the agency;

(5) To employ agents and employees;

(6) To contract with any person within or outside this state for the sale or transmission of any service, product, or commodity supplied, transmitted, conveyed, transformed, produced, or generated by any project, or for any interest therein or any right to capacity thereof, on such terms and for such period of time as the agency’s board shall determine;

(7) To purchase, sell, exchange, produce, generate, transmit, or distribute any service, product, or commodity within and outside the state 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, and to enter into agreements with any person with respect to such purchase, sale, exchange, production, generation, transmission, or distribution on such terms and for such period of time as the agency’s board shall determine;

(8) To acquire, own, hold, use, lease, as lessor or lessee, sell, or otherwise dispose of, mortgage, pledge, or grant a security interest in any real or personal property, commodity, product, or service or any interest therein or right thereto;

(9) To exercise the power of eminent domain in the manner set forth in Chapter 76, article 7. No real property of the state, any municipality, or any political subdivision of the state, may be so acquired without the consent of the state, such municipality, or such subdivision;

(10) To incur debts, liabilities, or obligations including the borrowing of money and the issuance of bonds, secured or unsecured, pursuant to the Municipal Cooperative Financing Act;

(11) To borrow money or accept contributions, grants, or other financial assistance from a public authority and to comply with such conditions and enter into such contracts, covenants, mortgages, trust indentures, leases, or agreements as may be necessary, convenient, or desirable;

(12) To fix, maintain, revise, and collect fees, rates, rents, and charges for functions, services, facilities, or commodities provided by the agency, and it shall be the mandatory duty of each agency to fix, maintain, revise, and collect such fees, rates, rents, and charges as will always be sufficient to pay all operating and maintenance expenses of the agency, to pay for costs of renewals and replacements to a project, to pay interest on and principal of, whether at maturity or upon sinking-fund redemption, any outstanding bonds or other indebtedness of the agency, and to provide, as may be required by a resolution, trust indenture, security instrument, or other agreement of the agency, for any reasonable reserves for any such expenses, costs, or debt service or for any margins or coverages over and above debt service;

(13) Subject to any agreements with holders of outstanding bonds, to invest any funds held in reserve or sinking funds, or any funds not required for immediate disbursement, including the proceeds from the sale of any bonds, in such obligations, securities, and other investments as the board shall deem proper;

(14) To join and pay dues to organizations, membership in which is deemed by the board to be beneficial to the accomplishment of the agency’s purposes;

(15) To own and operate, contract to operate, or lease advanced metering infrastructure technology and provide advanced metering infrastructure services regarding publicly owned utility systems, including, without limitation, electric, water, and natural gas systems. The agency shall not engage in the sale of the natural gas commodity;

(16) To provide services related to information technology, physical security, physical infrastructure management, regulatory reporting, and administration regarding publicly owned utility and municipal infrastructure systems; and

(17) To exercise any other powers which are deemed necessary and convenient to carry out the Municipal Cooperative Financing Act.