The Public Service Authority has power to develop the Cooper River, the Santee River, and the Congaree River in this State, as instrumentalities of intrastate, interstate, and foreign commerce and navigation; to produce, distribute, and sell electric power; to acquire, treat, distribute, and sell water at wholesale; to reclaim and drain swampy and flooded lands; and to reforest the watersheds of rivers in this State; and also has all powers which may be necessary or convenient for the exercise of these powers, including without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the following powers:

1. (1) To have perpetual succession as a corporation.
2. (2) To sue and be sued.
3. (3) To adopt, use and alter a corporate seal.
4. (4) To acquire, purchase, hold, use, lease, mortgage, sell, transfer, and dispose of any property, real, personal or mixed, or any interest therein.
5. (5) To divert water from the Tail Race Canal by means of canals, flumes, or otherwise and to build, construct, maintain, and operate canals, dams, locks, aqueducts, reservoirs, draw-spans, ditches, drains, and roads, and to lay and construct any tunnels, penstocks, culverts, flumes, conduits, mains, and other pipes necessary or useful in connection therewith.
6. (6) To divert waters from the Santee River by means of a canal or canals, flume or flumes or otherwise, and to construct and maintain a dam of any height or size for the purpose of impounding said waters and to discharge the same into the Cooper River or otherwise.
7. (7) To build, acquire, construct and maintain power houses and any and all structures, ways and means, necessary, useful or customarily used and employed in the manufacture, generation and distribution of water power, steam electric power, hydroelectric power and any and all other kinds of power, including power transmission lines, poles, telephone lines, substations, transformers, and generally all things used or useful in the manufacture, distribution, purchase and sale of power generated by water, steam or otherwise.
8. (8) To manufacture, produce, generate, transmit, distribute and sell water power, steam electric power, hydroelectric power or mechanical power within and without the State of South Carolina.
9. (9) To reclaim and drain swampy and flooded lands.
10. (10) To reforest the watersheds of the Cooper, Santee and Congaree Rivers and to prevent soil erosion and floods.
11. (11) To make bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs.
12. (12) To appoint officers, agents, employees and servants, to prescribe their duties, and to fix their compensation.
13. (13) To fix, alter, charge and collect tolls and other charges for the use of their facilities of, or for the services rendered by, or for any commodities furnished by, the Public Service Authority at rates to be determined by it, such rates to be at least sufficient to provide for payment of all expenses of the Public Service Authority, the conservation, maintenance and operation of its facilities and properties, the payment of principal and interest on its notes, bonds and other evidences of indebtedness or obligation and to fulfill the terms and provisions of any agreements made with the purchasers or holders of any such notes, bonds or other evidences of indebtedness or obligation.
14. (14) From time to time to borrow money, make and issue negotiable notes, bonds and other evidences of indebtedness, including refunding and advanced refunding notes, bonds and other evidences of indebtedness, of the Public Service Authority; to secure the payment of such obligations or any part thereof by mortgage, lien, pledge, or deed of trust, on all or any of its property, contracts, franchises or revenues, including the proceeds of any such refunding and advanced refunding notes, bonds and other evidences of indebtedness and the investments in which such proceeds are invested and the earning on and income therefrom; to invest its moneys, including without limitation its revenues and the proceeds of such notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness, in obligations of, or obligations the principal of and interest on which are guaranteed by or are fully secured by contracts with, the United States of America, in obligations of any agency, instrumentality or corporation which has been or may hereafter be created by or pursuant to an act of Congress of the United States as an agency, instrumentality or corporation thereof, in direct and general obligations of the State of South Carolina, and in certificates of deposit issued by any bank, trust company or national banking association; provided, however, that the Authority, when investing in certificates of deposit, shall invest in certificates of deposit issued by institutions authorized to do business in South Carolina if such institutions offer terms which, in the opinion of the Authority, are equal to or better than those offered by other institutions; to make such agreements with the purchasers or holders of such notes, bonds or other evidences of indebtedness or with others in connection with any such notes, bonds or other evidences of indebtedness, whether issued or to be issued, as the Public Service Authority shall deem advisable; and in general to provide for the security for said notes, bonds or other evidences of indebtedness and the rights of the holders thereof; provided, that in the exercise of the powers herein granted to issue advanced refunding notes, bonds or other evidences of indebtedness the Public Service Authority, may, but shall not be required to avail itself of or comply with any of the provisions of the Advanced Refunding Act, Sections 11-21-10 to 11-21-80.
15. (15) To endorse or otherwise guarantee the obligations of any corporation all of the voting stock of which the Public Service Authority may own or acquire.
16. (16) Without limitation of the foregoing to borrow money from the United States Government or any corporation or agency created, designed or established by the United States.
17. (17) To make contracts of every name and nature and to sue and be sued thereon; to enter into agreements providing for binding arbitration between the parties thereto; and to execute all instruments necessary or convenient for the carrying on of its business.
18. (17) To make contracts of every name and nature and to execute all instruments necessary or convenient for the carrying on of its business.
19. (18) To have power of eminent domain.
20. (19) To mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or otherwise encumber all or any of the property, real, personal, or mixed, or facilities, or revenues of the Public Service Authority as security for notes, bonds, evidences of indebtedness or other obligations of the Public Service Authority.
21. (20) To do all acts and things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers granted to it by this chapter or any other law.
22. (21) To investigate, study and consider all undeveloped power sites and navigation projects in the State and to acquire or develop the same as need may arise in the same manner as herein provided. Provided, always, nevertheless, that said investigations, studies and considerations of said South Carolina Public Service Authority herein created shall be limited to the Congaree River and its tributaries below the confluence of the Broad and Saluda Rivers and the Wateree tributary of the Santee River at and near a point at or near Camden, South Carolina. Provided, however, that the Public Service Authority shall have no power at any time or in any manner to pledge the credit and the taxing power of the State or any of its political subdivisions, nor shall any of its obligations or securities be deemed to be obligations of the State or of any of its political subdivisions; nor shall the State be legally, equitably or morally liable for the payment of principal of and interest on such obligations or securities. The State of South Carolina does hereby pledge to and agree with any person, firm or corporation, the government of the United States and any corporation or agency created, designated or established by the United States, subscribing to or acquiring the notes, bonds, evidences of indebtedness or other obligations to be issued by the Public Service Authority for the construction of any project, that the State will not alter or limit the rights hereby vested in the Public Service Authority until the said notes, bonds, evidences of indebtedness or other obligations, together with the interest thereon, are fully met and discharged; provided, that nothing herein contained shall preclude such limitation or alteration if and when and after adequate provisions shall be made by law for the protection of those subscribing to or acquiring such notes, bonds, evidences of indebtedness or other obligations of the Public Service Authority. The State of South Carolina or any political subdivision shall in no way be responsible for any debts or obligations contracted by or for the Authority, and the board or directors of the Authority, the advisory board, and the officers shall make no debt whatsoever for the payment of which the State or any political subdivision shall in any way be bound. It is intended that the project to be developed hereunder and any and all projects undertaken by the provisions of this chapter, shall be financed as self-liquidating projects and that the credit and taxing powers of the State, or its political subdivisions shall never be pledged to pay said debts and obligations.
23. (22) To acquire or purchase, if requested to do so, or to construct, operate, and maintain all structures and facilities necessary, useful, or customarily used and employed in the treatment and distribution of water for industrial, commercial, domestic, or agricultural purposes within the counties of Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Clarendon, Colleton, Dorchester, Orangeburg, and Sumter. The provisions of this section do not apply to the acquisition or purchase of existing electric systems.

24. (23) To acquire, treat, transmit, distribute, and sell water at wholesale within the counties of Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Clarendon, Colleton, Dorchester, Orangeburg, and Sumter if requested in writing to do so by the governing body of any incorporated municipality, by the governing body of any special purpose district providing water service in the unincorporated areas of each county, or by the governing body of each county for those unincorporated areas not so provided water service by a special purpose district. The authority may not transfer water from one river basin to another except for those located in the counties specified in this item. However, the authority shall prepare and maintain its books and records for its water supply operations separate and apart from its books and records for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power. The costs of water supply operations, including the loss of the generation of hydroelectric power, may not affect rates and charges for electric service. Water must be offered for sale by the authority on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to whether electricity is also purchased from the authority.

    Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Public Service Authority shall have power and is hereby authorized from time to time to issue its negotiable bonds and to secure the payment of the same by mortgage, lien, pledge, or deed of trust, on or of all or any of its property, contracts, franchises or revenues. Said bonds shall be authorized by resolution of the board of directors and shall bear such date or dates, be in such forms, and contain such provisions, as the board of directors may determine. Any resolution or resolutions authorizing any notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness may contain provisions, which shall be a part of the contract with the holders thereof, as to (a) the rates of tolls and other charges for use of the facilities of, or for the services rendered by, or for the commodities furnished by, the Public Service Authority, (b) the setting aside of reserves or sinking funds and the regulation and disposition thereof, (c) reserving the right to redeem the notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness at such prices, not exceeding one hundred five per cent of the principal amount thereof and accrued interest, as may be provided, (d) limitations on the issuance of additional bonds, (e) the terms and provisions of any mortgage or deed of trust securing the bonds or under which the same may be issued and (f) any other or additional agreements with the holders of such notes, bonds or other evidences of indebtedness.

    The Public Service Authority may enter into any mortgages, deeds of trust or other agreements with any bank or trust company or other person or persons in the United States having power to enter into the same, including the United States Government or any agency or creature thereof, as security for the notes, bonds or other evidences of indebtedness and may transfer, convey, mortgage or pledge all or any of the property, contracts, franchises or revenues of the Public Service Authority thereunder. Such mortgage, deed of trust or other agreement may contain such provisions as may be customary in such instruments or as the Public Service Authority may authorize, including (but without limitation) provisions as to (a) the construction, operation, maintenance and repair of the properties or facilities of the Public Service Authority, (b) the application of funds and the safeguarding of funds on hand or on deposit, (c) the rights and remedies of said trustee and the holders of the bonds, (d) possession of the mortgaged properties and (e) the terms and provisions of the bonds, and may also provide for a franchise for operation of the property and business of the Public Service Authority, or any part thereof, to any person, firm or corporation, including the United States Government, or any agency thereof, acquiring the mortgaged property or any part thereof upon foreclosure for a period of not to exceed twenty years from the date of such acquisition.

    The powers herein conferred upon the board of directors shall not be construed to give the board of directors the power to sell, except by way of mortgage or deed of trust, all of the physical property of the Authority, but the board of directors may sell any surplus property which it may acquire and which said board of directors shall deem not to be necessary for the purpose of the development.