§ 39-1-1 - Declaration of policy – Purposes.
SECTION 39-1-1
§ 39-1-1 Declaration of policy –Purposes. – (a) The general assembly finds and therefore declares that:
(1) The businesses of distributing electrical energy,producing and transporting manufactured and natural gas, operating water worksand furnishing supplies of water for domestic, industrial, and commercial use,offering to the public transportation of persons and property, furnishing andservicing telephonic and wireless audio and visual communication systems, andoperation of community antenna television systems are affected with a publicinterest;
(2) Supervision and reasonable regulation by the state of themanner in which such businesses construct their systems and carry on theiroperations within the state are necessary to protect and promote theconvenience, health, comfort, safety, accommodation, and welfare of the people,and are a proper exercise of the police power of the state;
(3) Preservation of the state's resources, commerce, andindustry requires the assurance of adequate public transportation andcommunication facilities, water supplies, and an abundance of energy, allsupplied to the people with reliability, at economical cost, and with dueregard for the preservation and enhancement of the environment, theconservation of natural resources, including scenic, historic, and recreationalassets, and the strengthening of long-range, land-use planning.
(b) It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state toprovide fair regulation of public utilities and carriers in the interest of thepublic, to promote availability of adequate, efficient and economical energy,communication, and transportation services and water supplies to theinhabitants of the state, to provide just and reasonable rates and charges forsuch services and supplies, without unjust discrimination, undue preferences oradvantages, or unfair or destructive competitive practices, and to co-operatewith other states and agencies of the federal government in promoting andcoordinating efforts to achieve realization of this policy.
(c) To this end, there is hereby vested in the publicutilities commission and the division of public utilities and carriers theexclusive power and authority to supervise, regulate, and make orders governingthe conduct of companies offering to the public in intrastate commerce energy,communication, and transportation services and water supplies for the purposeof increasing and maintaining the efficiency of the companies, accordingdesirable safeguards and convenience to their employees and to the public, andprotecting them and the public against improper and unreasonable rates, tollsand charges by providing full, fair, and adequate administrative procedures andremedies, and by securing a judicial review to any party aggrieved by such anadministrative proceeding or ruling.
(d) The legislature also finds and declares, as of 1996, thefollowing:
(1) That lower retail electricity rates would promote thestate's economy and the health and general welfare of the citizens of RhodeIsland;
(2) That current research and experience indicates thatgreater competition in the electricity industry would result in a decrease inelectricity rates over time;
(3) That greater competition in the electricity industrywould stimulate economic growth;
(4) That it is in the public interest to promote competitionin the electricity industry and to establish performance based ratemaking forregulated utilities;
(5) That in connection with the transition to a morecompetitive electric utility industry, public utilities should have areasonable opportunity to recover transitional costs associated withcommitments prudently incurred in the past pursuant to their legal obligationsto provide reliable electric service at reasonable costs;
(6) That it shall be the policy of the state to encourage,through all feasible means and measures, states where fossil-fueled electricgenerating units producing air emissions affecting Rhode Island air quality arelocated to reduce such emissions over time to levels that enable cost effectiveattainment of environmental standards within Rhode Island;
(7) That in a restructured electrical industry the sameprotections currently afforded to low income customers shall continue.
(e) The legislature further finds and declares as of 2006:
(1) That prices of energy, including especially fossil-fuelsand electricity, are rising faster than the cost of living and are subject tosharp fluctuations, which conditions create hardships for many households,institutions, organizations, and businesses in the state;
(2) That while utility restructuring has brought somebenefits, notably in transmission and distribution costs and more efficient useof generating capacities, it has not resulted in competitive markets forresidential and small commercial industrial customers, lower overall prices, orgreater diversification of energy resources used for electrical generation;
(3) That the state's economy and the health and generalwelfare of the people of Rhode Island benefit when energy supplies are reliableand least-cost; and
(4) That it is a necessary move beyond basic utilityrestructuring in order to secure for Rhode Island, to the maximum extentreasonably feasible, the benefits of reasonable and stable rates, least-costprocurement, and system reliability that includes energy resourcediversification, distributed generation, and load management.