§ 39-30-3. Streetlight investment.
(a) Any city or town receiving streetlighting service from an electric distribution company
pursuant to an electric-rate tariff providing for the use by such municipality of
lighting equipment owned by the electric distribution company, at its option, upon
sixty (60) days' notice to the electric company and to the office, and subject to
the provisions of subsections (b) through (e), may:
(1) Convert its streetlighting service from the subject tariff rate to an alternative
tariff rate providing for delivery service by the electric distribution company of
electric energy, whether or not supplied by the electric distribution company, over
distribution facilities and wires owned by the electric distribution company to lighting
equipment owned or leased by the municipality, and further providing for the use by
the municipality of the space on any pole, lamp post, or other mounting surface previously
used by the electric distribution company for the mounting of the lighting equipment.
The alternative tariff rate shall provide for monthly bills for street and area lighting
that shall include a schedule of energy charges based on a determination of annual
kilowatt-hour usage per-lumen rating or nominal wattage of all types of lighting equipment,
but shall not include facility, support, maintenance, or accessory charges. The new
tariff shall use existing usage calculation methods and existing rates for any currently
existing lighting equipment, only setting reasonable new rates for newly adopted lighting
equipment. The new tariff shall be structured so as to allow options for various streetlighting
controls, including both conventional dusk/dawn operation using photocell or scheduling
controls, as well as schedule-based dimming or on/off controls that dim or turn off
streetlights during periods of low activity. The electric distribution company, in
consultation with the office, shall file the new tariff with the public utilities
commission within sixty (60) days of the effective date of this chapter and the commission
shall then issue a decision within sixty (60) days after the filing to effectuate
the purposes and provisions of this chapter;
(2) Purchase electric energy for use in such municipal lighting equipment from the electric
distribution company or any other person allowed by law to provide electric energy;
and
(3) After due diligence, including an analysis of the cost impact to the municipality,
acquire all of the public street and area lighting equipment of the electric distribution
company in the municipality, compensating the electric distribution company as necessary,
in accordance with subsection (b).
(b) Any municipality exercising the option to convert its lighting equipment pursuant
to subsection (a) must compensate the electric distribution company for the original
cost, less depreciation and less amortization, of any active or inactive existing
public lighting equipment owned by the electric distribution company and installed
in the municipality as of the date the municipality exercises its right of acquisition
pursuant to subsection (a), net of any salvage value. Upon such payment, the municipality
shall have the right to use, alter, remove, or replace the acquired lighting equipment
in any way the municipality deems appropriate. Any contract a municipality enters
for the services must require appropriate levels of training and certification of
personnel providing pole service for public and worker safety, evidence of twenty-four-hour
(24) call capacity, and a committed timely response schedule for both emergency and
routine outages. The municipality may also request that the electric company remove
any part of such lighting equipment that it does not acquire from the electric distribution
company in which case the municipality shall reimburse the electric distribution company
the cost of removal by the electric distribution company, along with the original
cost, less depreciation, of the removed part, net of any salvage value.
(c) When a municipality exercises its option pursuant to subsection (a), the municipality
will notify the electric distribution company of any alterations to street and area
lighting inventory within sixty (60) days of the alteration. The electric distribution
company will then adjust its monthly billing determinations to reflect the alteration
within sixty (60) days.
(d) When a municipality exercises its option pursuant to subsection (a), anyone other
than the electric distribution company controlling the right to use space on any pole,
lamp post, or other mounting surface previously used by the electric distribution
company in the municipality shall allow the municipality to assume the rights and
obligations of the electric distribution company with respect to the space for the
unexpired term of any lease, easement, or other agreement under which the electric
distribution company used the space; provided, however, that:
(i) The municipality is subject to the same terms and conditions that pole owners make
to others that attach to the poles; and
(ii) In the assumption of the rights and obligations of the electric distribution company
by a municipality, the municipality shall in no way or form restrict, impede, or prohibit
universal access for the provision of electric and other services.
(e) Any dispute regarding the terms of the alternative tariff, the compensation to be
paid the electric distribution company, or any other matter arising in connection
with the exercise of the option provided in subsection (a), including, but not limited
to, the terms on which space is to be provided to the municipality in accordance with
subsection (d), shall be resolved by the division of public utilities and carriers
within ninety (90) days of any request for the resolution by the municipality or any
person involved in the dispute.
(f) Notwithstanding any general or special law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, any
affiliate of any electric distribution company whose streetlighting service is converted
by any municipality in accordance with the provisions of this section may solicit
and compete for the business of the municipality for the provision of lighting equipment
or any other service such as equipment maintenance in connection therewith.