Subject to the provisions of this Division 117, any municipality may (1) acquire, construct, own and operate within the corporate limits of the municipality any public utility the product or service of which, or a major portion thereof, is or is to be supplied to the municipality or its inhabitants and may contract for, purchase and sell the product or service of any such utility; provided, however, that any municipality may acquire, construct, own and operate without the corporate limits of any municipality any public utility for the transportation of persons; (2) acquire, construct, own, maintain and operate without the corporate limits of any municipality any electric power lines or substations necessary solely to provide power or a source of power for such municipality, and, when it is found necessary and in the public interest by the Illinois Commerce Commission, to acquire by eminent domain any property without the corporate limits of any municipality for such purposes, but no new customer which an electric supplier is entitled to serve under the Electric Supplier Act may be served from any line, lines or other facilities located without the corporate limits of a municipality unless waiver to serve such a customer is given in writing by the electric supplier; (3) lease any public utility owned by the municipality to any corporation organized under the laws of this state for the purpose of operating that public utility, for a period not longer than 20 years; (4) fix the rates and charges for the product sold and the services rendered by any such public utility; and (5) make all needful rules and regulations in relation thereto.
     However, no municipality shall acquire or operate a public utility for or in connection with the transportation of persons under the provisions of this Division 117 if there is operating in such municipality any other publicly or privately owned public utility that provides such a service; and no municipality located within or partly within a county having 400,000 or more inhabitants may acquire by eminent domain any land or right of way for any electrical power line or substation outside of its corporate limits.