§ 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 works and furnishing supplies of water for domestic,
industrial, and commercial use, offering to the public transportation of persons and
property, furnishing and servicing telephonic and wireless audio and visual communication
systems, and operation of community antenna television systems are affected with a
public interest;
(2) Supervision and reasonable regulation by the state of the manner in which the businesses
construct their systems and carry on their operations within the state are necessary
to protect and promote the convenience, health, comfort, safety, accommodation, and
welfare of the people, and are a proper exercise of the police power of the state;
and
(3) Preservation of the state's resources, commerce, and industry requires the assurance
of adequate public transportation and communication facilities, water supplies, and
an abundance of energy, all supplied to the people with reliability, at economical
cost, and with due regard for the preservation and enhancement of the environment,
the conservation of natural resources, including scenic, historic, and recreational
assets, and the strengthening of long-range, land-use planning.
(b) It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state to provide fair regulation of
public utilities and carriers in the interest of the public, to promote availability
of adequate, efficient, and economical energy, communication, and transportation services
and water supplies to the inhabitants of the state, to provide just and reasonable
rates and charges for such services and supplies, without unjust discrimination, undue
preferences or advantages, or unfair or destructive competitive practices, and to
cooperate with other states and agencies of the federal government in promoting and
coordinating efforts to achieve realization of this policy.
(c) To this end, there is hereby vested in the public utilities commission and the division
of public utilities and carriers the exclusive power and authority to supervise, regulate,
and make orders governing the conduct of companies offering to the public in intrastate
commerce energy, communication, and transportation services and water supplies for
the purpose of increasing and maintaining the efficiency of the companies, according
desirable safeguards and convenience to their employees and to the public, and protecting
them and the public against improper and unreasonable rates, tolls, and charges by
providing full, fair, and adequate administrative procedures and remedies, and by
securing a judicial review to any party aggrieved by such an administrative proceeding
or ruling.
(d) The legislature also finds and declares, as of 1996, the following:
(1) That lower retail electricity rates would promote the state's economy and the health
and general welfare of the citizens of Rhode Island;
(2) That current research and experience indicates that greater competition in the electricity
industry would result in a decrease in electricity rates over time;
(3) That greater competition in the electricity industry would stimulate economic growth;
(4) That it is in the public interest to promote competition in the electricity industry
and to establish performance-based ratemaking for regulated utilities;
(5) That in connection with the transition to a more competitive electric utility industry,
public utilities should have a reasonable opportunity to recover transitional costs
associated with commitments prudently incurred in the past pursuant to their legal
obligations to 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, electric-generating units producing air
emissions affecting Rhode Island air quality are located to reduce such emissions
over time to levels that enable cost-effective attainment of environmental standards
within Rhode Island; and
(7) That in a restructured electrical industry the same protections 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-fuels and electricity, are rising
faster than the cost of living and are subject to sharp fluctuations, which conditions
create hardships for many households, institutions, organizations, and businesses
in the state;
(2) That while utility restructuring has brought some benefits, notably in transmission
and distribution costs and more efficient use of generating capacities, it has not
resulted in competitive markets for residential and small commercial-industrial customers,
lower overall prices, or greater diversification of energy resources used for electrical
generation;
(3) That the state's economy and the health and general welfare of the people of Rhode
Island benefit when energy supplies are reliable and least-cost; and
(4) That it is a necessary move beyond basic utility restructuring in order to secure
for Rhode Island, to the maximum extent reasonably feasible, the benefits of reasonable
and stable rates, least-cost procurement, and system reliability that includes energy
resource diversification, distributed generation, and load management.