Rhode Island § 39-1-18 - Public Utilities Commission

§ 39-1-18. Hearings and records — Certified copies.

(a) All hearings and orders of the commission and of the division, and the records thereof, shall be public and any person shall be permitted to record all or any portion of a hearing by way of camera, video, or tape recorder of any kind, unless a party to the hearing requests, and the chairperson or administrator grants the request, that the recording be prohibited for the protection of attorney-client privilege, confidentiality, or other interest of the parties. All reports, records, files, books, and accounts in the possession of the commission or the division shall be open to inspection by the public at all reasonable times. The division may charge and collect reasonable fees for copies of official documents, orders, papers, and records, and for authenticating or certifying the same; provided that no fee shall be charged for single copies of official documents, orders, papers, and records, furnished to public officers of the state for use in their official capacity, or for the annual reports in the ordinary course of distribution.

(b) All filings made to the division or commission shall also be provided digitally in a manner established by the division. The commission and division may adopt rules exempting filings from this requirement.

(c) In order to support the ability of the public and interested parties to stay informed of the activities of the commission and the division, and to promote awareness of utility restructuring, the division shall maintain a site on the internet through which the public may access:

(1) Notices of and agendas of hearings;

(2) All filings that are available in digital format and that are not subject to protective orders;

(3) All orders, rules, and regulations of the commission or administrator;

(4) Announcements of, agendas for, and minutes of open meetings;

(5) A calendar of all forthcoming open meetings and hearings;

(6) Current tariffs of all public utilities subject to assessment pursuant to § 39-1-23; provided, however, that the division may require any public utility with extensive tariffs to maintain a website and provide access to those tariffs via a link from the division’s website;

(7) A listing of all public utilities and nonregulated power producers, together with consumer contact information for each;

(8) Consumer information on billing dispute resolution, retail access, conservation, and consumer-assistance programs;

(9) Demand-side management programs available to residential, commercial, and industrial customers; and

(10) Other information as the division deems relevant and useful to the public.