No provision of Article 5 nor any provision thereof shall, or shall be construed to, express or imply the invalidity or invalidation of the incorporation or operations of any electric or telephone membership corporation heretofore organized and operating under Chapter 117 of the General Statutes, including but not limited to North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation and any two or more electric or telephone membership corporations which have substantively merged or consolidated; and any such substantive mergers or consolidations are hereby specifically validated. (1979, c. 285, s. 4.)