Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 815 - Division of Public Utilities and Carriers › Chapter 20 - Natural Gas and Jurisdictional Propane › Subchapter 00 - N/A › Part 1 - Standards for Gas Utilities, Master Meter Systems and Jurisdictional Propane Systems (815-RICR-20-00-1) › Section 815-RICR-20-00-1.3 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. The definitions set out in
				  49 C.F.R. §§
											190.3,
				  191.3, and
				  192.3 are incorporated by
				  reference above in §
										1.1(A)   of this Part, except as augmented or modified
				  below. Unless the context otherwise requires, the following words as used
				  herein shall have the following meanings:
1.
				  "Abandoned" means that the service line is physically disconnected (cut-off) at
				  the main, or at the distribution line that is the source of supply if the pipe
				  is not a main, and the pipe is made from material other than plastic or
				  cathodically-protected steel. If the service line is plastic or
				  cathodically-protected steel, it may be cut off at or in close proximity to a
				  property line and made into a stub. When the service line is abandoned, the LDC
				  shall remove the meter and assembly. Should access to these not be readily
				  available, the LDC shall make multiple attempts to gain access for removal. The
				  end of the operator's pipe that is within the customer's building must be cut
				  off below ground and sealed outside the building or must be sealed by inserting
				  a device within the service line to a point that is outside the building wall
				  or foundation. Provisions must be made so that the seal or device cannot be
				  readily removed. When the end of the operator's pipe is located above ground
				  outside the building, the aboveground segment must be removed and the remaining
				  segment below ground sealed. In any case, the pipeline's above or below ground
				  entry point into the building or foundation must be sealed after the pipe has
				  been removed. The pipeline shall be purged and sealed in accordance with
				  49 C.F.R. §
												192.727(b).
2. "Accessory" means any meter reading
				  device, which is mechanically or non-mechanically attached to a meter and could
				  affect its accuracy, used to display, record, or transmit meter information to
				  a remote location or any associated meter correction device, either remote or
				  attached, used to adjust the reading of a meter index.
3. "Administrator" means the Administrator of
				  the Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers.
4. "AMR" means an automated meter-reading
				  device.
5. "British Thermal Unit
				  (BTU)" means a unit of heat equal to the amount of heat required to raise one
				  pound of water one degree Fahrenheit at one atmosphere pressure; equivalent to
				  251.997 calories.
6. "Commission"
				  means the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission.
7. "Cubic foot"
a. The term cubic foot means the volume of
				  gas which occupies one (1) cubic foot of space at a temperature of 60°
				  Fahrenheit and an absolute pressure of 14.73 pounds per square inch (known as
				  standard conditions) with deviation there from, for varying pressure and
				  temperature being in accordance with Boyle's Law and Charles' Law.
b. When gas is metered under the filed
				  domestic rates of the utility a cubic foot shall be taken to mean the amount of
				  gas which occupies one cubic foot under the conditions existing in the
				  customer's meter as and where installed, except that outside meters may be of a
				  temperature compensating type.
c.
				  When gas is metered in large volumes at pressures and temperatures other than
				  standard, it must be measured by a meter equipped with devices that correct for
				  super-compressibility, pressure and temperature to determine billable volume at
				  standard conditions. When orifice meters are used additional corrections may be
				  made for the super compressibility and expansion effects, in accordance with
				  industry standards.
8.
				  "Cubic foot bottle" means a specifically constructed and calibrated bottle that
				  can measure exactly one cubic foot of air. The calibration of the bottle is
				  certified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
9. "Degree days" means a measure of coldness
				  based on the extent to which the daily mean temperature falls below 65 degrees
				  F. For example, on a day when the average temperature is 35 degrees F, there
				  would be 30 degree days experienced.
10. "Distribution line" means a gas pipeline,
				  other than a gas-gathering or transmission line, that is normally used by
				  utilities for the transportation of natural gas and/or other flammable gas to
				  customers.
11. "Discontinued" means
				  that gas service is no longer provided to the customer and the prevention of
				  gas flow is usually performed by a locking device (valve) located in the
				  service line or in the meter assembly.
12. "Division" means the Rhode Island
				  Division of Public Utilities and Carriers.
13. "DR meter" means a meter that does not
				  register the consumption of gas.
14. "Fast meter" means a meter that measures
				  more gas than is actually consumed.
15. "FERC" means the Federal Energy
				  Regulatory Commission.
16.
				  "Inactive" means a service line where gas service to the customer has been
				  discontinued but the service line has not been abandoned.
17. "Jurisdictional propane system" means a
				  propane system that serves ten or more residential customers, or two or more
				  customers served in a public place, from a single or manifold tank
				  system.
18. "LDC" means a local
				  distribution company, which is also a public utility engaged in the business of
				  manufacturing, distributing, selling, or transporting natural or other gas by
				  pipeline in the State of Rhode Island.
19. "Master meter system" means a pipeline
				  system for distributing gas within, but not limited to, a definable area, such
				  as a mobile home park, housing project, or apartment complex, where the
				  operator purchases metered gas from an outside source for resale through a gas
				  distribution pipeline system. The gas distribution pipeline system 10 supplies
				  the ultimate consumer who either purchases the gas directly through a meter or
				  by other means, such as by rents.
20. "Meter" means a device, instrument, or
				  any attached device, used by a utility to measure a quantity of gas for billing
				  purposes. The two (2) classes of gas meters consist of:
a. Class A meter - A meter having a rated
				  capacity of not more than 500 cubic feet per hour at 1/2 inch water column
				  differential pressure and operating at a gauge pressure of not more than 15
				  pounds per square inch and not greater than the maximum pressure rating of the
				  meter expressed in pounds per square inch.
b. Class B meter - A meter having a rated
				  capacity of more than 500 cubic feet per hour. The meter shall not operate at a
				  pressure greater than the maximum pressure rating of the meter expressed in
				  pounds per square inch.
21. "Potentially hazardous condition" means
				  any condition which has the potential to become a hazardous condition, but
				  which does not require immediate action. All of the following are examples of
				  potentially hazardous conditions:
a. Customer
				  failure to permit the utility to perform inspections and maintenance on the
				  utility's facilities in or on the customer's premises.
b. Customer alterations or modifications of
				  the utility's facilities located in or on the customer's premises.
c. Customer construction of a structure or
				  appurtenance near or over the main, service line piping, or meter set assembly
				  so that the utility's facilities are not in compliance with the utility's
				  standards.
d. Customer failure to
				  correct or replace gas utilization equipment or gas fuel line piping that has
				  been previously identified and classified as potentially hazardous by the
				  utility.
22. "Public
				  utility" as defined in R.I. Gen. Laws §
											39-1-2.
23. "Referee test" means a meter test in
				  which the customer requests to be present for the actual test or to be
				  represented by the Division and/or the customer's agent.
24. "Slow meter" means a meter that measures
				  less gas than is actually consumed.
25. "Therm" means a unit of heating valve
				  equivalent to 100,000 BTU's.