70-650. Plant and system; sale to city or village; when required; valuation and severance damages; procedure.

Whenever any public power district or public power and irrigation district shall, as herein provided, acquire, by purchase, lease, or otherwise, any electric distribution system, or any part or parts thereof, situated within or partly within any city or village, if any part of such system be within such city or village, such acquisition shall be upon the condition that such city or village may purchase, and such district shall be required to sell to such city or village, such electric distribution system, situated within or partly within such city or village, but not within the corporate limits of any other city or village, by paying to such public power district or public power and irrigation district such sum as is fair and reasonable, including reasonable severance damages. If any city or village and such district shall fail to agree upon a price and terms for the sale of such property to such city or village, the procedure for determining such price and terms of sale, and for compelling such sale shall be the same as is provided by sections 19-701 to 19-706. In determining the amount of such severance damages, the court shall take into account, together with other relevant factors, the economic effect, if any, caused by the severance therefrom of the part taken upon the system as a going concern as it will be and remain after the severance. When the sum that is fair and reasonable shall have been determined as above provided, the court shall deduct therefrom and allow as a credit upon such sum an amount that bears the same proportion to such sum as the amount of the bonds that have been paid, redeemed or liquidated, and the reserves established therefor by said district, out of the earnings from the operation of the district while such city or village was within and a part of such district, bears to the total amount of the bonded indebtedness of such district issued to finance the purchase price and the cost of construction of the entire property of such district. In entering its award the court shall show how much of the total thereof was allowed for the physical property taken and how much was allowed for other values and damages, if any.

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Annotations

Prior case construing this section distinguished. Inslee v. City of Bridgeport, 153 Neb. 559, 45 N.W.2d 590 (1951).

The taking under eminent domain by a city from a public power district is limited to the electric distribution system. Consumers Public Power Dist. v. Eldred, 146 Neb. 926, 22 N.W.2d 188 (1946).

Power to purchase other electric plants is conferred. State ex rel. Johnson v. Consumers Public Power Dist., 143 Neb. 753, 10 N.W.2d 784 (1943).

This statute, providing a method of purchase by agreement which may be used by a municipal corporation desiring to buy a public utility system from a public power district, does not conflict with article 7 of Chapter 19 making provision for purchase of public utilities through the exercise of the power of eminent domain. State ex rel. Consumers Public Power District v. Boettcher, 138 Neb. 22, 291 N.W. 709 (1940).

Provision of this section that a city or village acquiring a distribution system from a public power district may not purchase lines within the corporate limits of any other city or village indicates the Legislature had no intention to give to a city or village any coercive power to extend its utility service into the boundaries of another municipality. Central Power Co. v. Nebraska City, 112 F.2d 471 (8th Cir. 1940).