(a)  Upon a written complaint made against any public utility by any city or town council, or by the water supply management division of the department of environmental management, or by any corporation, or by any twenty-five (25) qualified electors, that any of the rates, tolls, charges, or any joint rate or rates of any public utility are in any respect unreasonable or unjustly discriminatory, or that any regulation, measurement, practice, or act whatsoever of any public utility, affecting or relating to the conveyance of persons or property, including sewage, or any service in connection therewith, or the conveyance of any telephone or telegraph message or any service in connection therewith, is in any respect unreasonable, insufficient, or unjustly discriminatory, or that any service is inadequate or cannot be obtained or is unsafe, or the public safety is endangered thereby, or in the case of drinking water that the water is either unsafe or nonpotable, or that the water supplier is in noncompliance with chapter 15.4 et seq. of title 46, the division shall proceed, with or without notice, to make such investigation as it may deem necessary or convenient. But no order affecting the rates, tolls, charges, regulations, measurements, practice, act, or service complained of shall be entered by the division without a formal public hearing. When any complaint shall be made by twenty-five (25) or more qualified electors, the complaint shall designate one of the complainants upon whom shall be served all notices, orders, and citations required by this chapter to be served upon complainants.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 39-4-3

  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Division: means the division of public utilities and carriers. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1-2
  • Public utility: means and includes every company that is an electric distribution company and every company operating or doing business in intrastate commerce and in this state as a railroad, street railway, common carrier, gas, liquefied natural gas, water, telephone, telegraph, and pipeline company, and every company owning, leasing, maintaining, managing, or controlling any plant or equipment, or any part of any plant or equipment, within this state for manufacturing, producing, transmitting, distributing, delivering, or furnishing natural or manufactured gas, directly or indirectly, to or for the public, or any cars or equipment employed on, or in connection with, any railroad or street railway for public or general use within this state, or any pipes, mains, poles, wires, conduits, fixtures, through, over, across, under, or along any public highways, parkways, or streets, public lands, waters, or parks for the transmission, transportation, or distribution of gas for sale to the public for light, heat, cooling, or power for providing audio or visual telephonic or telegraphic communication service within this state, or any pond, lake, reservoir, stream, well, or distributing plant or system employed for the distribution of water to the consuming public within this state, including the water supply board of the city of Providence; provided, that, except as provided in § 39-16-9 and in P. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1-2
  • town council: include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9

(b)  The term “safe and potable” shall mean the suitability or fitness for human consumption of drinking water.

History of Section.
P.L. 1912, ch. 795, § 18; G.L. 1923, ch. 253, § 18; G.L. 1938, ch. 122, § 15; G.L. 1956, § 39-4-3; P.L. 1971, ch. 265, § 7; P.L. 1972, ch. 205, § 6; P.L. 1977, ch. 253, § 1; P.L. 1980, ch. 14, § 3; P.L. 1983, ch. 235, § 4; P.L. 1995, ch. 188, § 4.