The Mortgage provides that the Mortgage Trustee shall have a lien on the mortgaged property, prior to the holders of bonds, for the payment of its reasonable compensation and expenses and for indemnity against certain liabilities. (Section 19.09)
Issuance of Bonds
An unlimited principal amount of bonds may be issued under the Mortgage. Bonds of any series may be issued from time to time on the basis of:
(1) 70% of the cost or fair value of qualified Property Additions after certain adjustments, as determined in accordance with the terms of the Mortgage;
(2) Class “A” Bonds (which need not bear interest) issued under a Class “A” Mortgage delivered to the Mortgage Trustee;
(3) retirement of bonds or certain prior lien bonds; and/or
(4) deposits of cash.
With certain exceptions in the case of clauses (2) and (3) above, the issuance of bonds is subject to our Adjusted Net Earnings for 12 consecutive months out of the preceding 15 months, before interest expense and income taxes, being at least twice the Annual Interest Requirements on all outstanding bonds issued under the Mortgage, all outstanding Class “A” Bonds not held by the Mortgage Trustee, all other indebtedness secured by a lien prior to the lien of the Mortgage and all bonds then applied for in pending bond issuance applications under the Mortgage. In general, interest on variable interest bonds, if any, is calculated using the rate then in effect. (Section 1.07 and Articles IV through VII)
Property Additions generally include property used in generating, transmitting, transporting, supplying and managing the use of energy or fuel in any form, other than, generally, property excepted from the Mortgage as described above such as fuel, rolling stock, property which is chargeable as an operating expense, and property used principally for the production or gathering of natural gas. (Section 1.04)
Release and Substitution of Property
Property subject to the Mortgage may be released generally on the basis of:
(1) the release of that property from a Qualified Lien;
(2) the deposit of cash, outstanding bonds or, to a limited extent, purchase money mortgages;
(3) Property Additions, after making adjustments for certain prior lien bonds outstanding against Property Additions; and/or
(4) a waiver of the right to issue bonds on the basis of bond retirements.
Funded Cash, as defined in Section 1.05 of the Mortgage, may be withdrawn upon the bases stated in (3) and (4) above. The Mortgage contains special provisions with respect to certain prior lien bonds deposited and disposition of moneys received in respect of deposited prior lien bonds. In addition, the Mortgage provides an alternative provision (Section 13.04) for release of property that does not constitute Funded Property (generally, “Funded Property” is property that was used as the basis for bond issuances or other property releases). This alternative provision does not require any of the basis for release described above and instead requires, among other conditions, the amount of outstanding bonds to not exceed 70% of the fair value of the then Funded Property at the time of the release. (Sections 1.05, 7.02, 9.05, 10.01 through 10.04 and 13.03 through 13.09)
Merger, Consolidation, Conveyance, Transfer or Lease
We may consolidate or merge with any company carrying on a similar business as us, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all of our property to another company, generally provided that the action fully preserves and does not impair the lien of the Mortgage or the rights of the Mortgage Trustee and bondholders. (Section 18.01) In those circumstances, the Mortgage will not be required to become a lien