Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 39-26.7 - Nonregulated Power Producer Consumer Bill of Rights

• Commission: means the Rhode Island public utilities commission. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-26.7-3
• Company: means and includes a person, firm, partnership, corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, association, joint-stock association or company, and his, her, its, or their lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by any court. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1-2
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Customer: means a company taking service from an electric distribution company at a single point of delivery or meter location. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1-2
• Division: means the division of public utilities and carriers. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-26.7-3
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Electric distribution company: means a company engaging in the distribution of electricity or owning, operating, or controlling distribution facilities and shall be a public utility pursuant to subsection (20) of this section. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1-2
• Fixed Rate: Having a "fixed" rate means that the APR doesn't change based on fluctuations of some external rate (such as the "Prime Rate"). In other words, a fixed rate is a rate that is not a variable rate. A fixed APR can change over time, in several circumstances:
  • You are late making a payment or commit some other default, triggering an increase to a penalty rate
  • The bank changes the terms of your account and you do not reject the change.
  • The rate expires (if the rate was fixed for only a certain period of time).
• in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
• Nonregulated power producer: means a company engaging in the business of producing, manufacturing, generating, buying, aggregating, marketing, or brokering electricity for sale at wholesale or for retail sale to the public; provided however, that companies that negotiate the purchase of electric generation services on behalf of customers and do not engage in the purchase and resale of electric generation services shall be excluded from this definition. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1-2
• person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
• United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8
• Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.