Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 810 - Public Utilities Commission › Chapter 10 - Consumer Protection › Subchapter 00 - N/A › Part 1 - Rules and Regulations Governing the Termination of Residential Electric, Gas and Water Service (810-RICR-10-00-1) › Section 810-RICR-10-00-1.2 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. The following terms are used throughout the
				 Rules and Regulations and shall be defined as follows:
1. "Residential customer" means a person whose
				 utility service is provided to that person's primary single unit dwelling place
				 on a permanent basis.
2. "Primary
				 residence" means a person's permanent dwelling place or the equivalent. A person
				 shall be deemed to have one permanent residence.
3. "Transient or seasonal customer" means a
				 person who utilizes utility service at a particular address on a nonpermanent or
				 seasonal basis. The term transient or seasonal customer shall include, but not be
				 limited to, college students who do not establish permanent residence and
				 customers whose utility service is provided to a vacation dwelling.
4. "Secondary residence" means a dwelling place
				 other than a person's primary residence.
5. "Protected status customer" means a
				 residential customer about whom the public utility has evidence that the customer
				 is:
a. unemployed as demonstrated through
				 verification by DLT that the person is currently receiving unemployment
				 compensation;
b. elderly or
				 handicapped, as defined by §
												1.4(K)(1)(a)     of this Part;
c. recipients of Low
				 Income Heating Assistance Program (LIHEAP); or
d. seriously ill, as defined by §
												1.2(A)(8)     of
				 this Part
e. living in a residence
				 where there is domiciled a person under the age of two (2) years and there is a
				 financial hardship.
f. A utility "has
				 evidence" that a person is a Protected Status Customer when the utility has
				 written verification from a legitimate agency that such person falls within one
				 of the above-listed categories of Protected Status Customers (e.g. Rhode Island
				 drivers license showing age, DLT photo identification card, a letter from a
				 licensed physician showing that a person is seriously ill or handicapped, a
				 Social Security Number, written verification of LIHEAP enrollment, written
				 verification of eligibility for food stamps);
6. "Eligible for termination" means a
				 residential customer whose service may be terminated pursuant to §
											1.3(B)     of
				 this Part;
7. "Financial hardship
				 category" means those families or groups of unrelated individuals residing in one
				 dwelling unit with a combined gross income equal to or less than seventy-five
				 percent of the Rhode Island median income as calculated by the U.S. Bureau of
				 Census and as adjusted for family or group size by the U.S. Department of Health
				 and Human Services regulation
				  45 C.F.R. §
												96.85  or its successor regulation. (§
											1.20     of this Part (Appendix A)
				 sets out the Rhode Island median for family or group size and shall be regularly
				 updated in accordance with HHS regulations governing the federal low-income Home
				 Energy Assistance Program.) Households can qualify under the financial hardship
				 category based on either their annual income or their income over the most recent
				 three (3) months;
8. "Seriously ill"
				 means an illness that is life-threatening or that will cause irreversible adverse
				 consequences to human health or that has a significant potential to become life
				 threatening or to cause irreversible adverse consequences to human
				 health;
9. "Utility termination
				 moratorium period" means the period of time between 12:01 a.m. on November 1st
				 and 11:59 p.m. on April 15th of each year.
10. "Multi-language utility service termination
				 card" means a card that includes the following statement in English, Spanish,
				 Portuguese, French and any other languages that either the utility deems
				 appropriate or that are required for a specific utility by the Division based on
				 the majority demographics of its customer base: "I am here to terminate service
				 to this home for failure to pay. I have a document showing the amount due on your
				 account. If you can not pay this now, please provide me with access to your
				 meter."
11. "Very low income
				 customer" means a LIHEAP eligible household with a gross annual income equal to
				 or less than one-hundred twenty-five percent (125%) of the Federal poverty
				 guideline for the household, as verified by the Office of Energy Resources or
				 other applicable agency.