Rhode Island § 39-3-30 - Regulatory Powers of Administration

§ 39-3-30. Investigation and order as to transaction between affiliates.

The division shall have full power and authority to investigate any contract, arrangement, purchase, or sale, and if the division, after notice and hearing, shall find the contract, arrangement, purchase, or sale to be unjust or unreasonable, the division may make such reasonable order relating thereto as the public good requires. In any such investigation, the burden shall be on the public utility or affiliate to prove the reasonableness of any contract, arrangement, purchase, or sale with, from, or to an affiliate. If the public utility shall fail to satisfy the division of the reasonableness of any contract, arrangement, purchase, or sale, the division may disapprove the same, or disallow payments thereunder or the part of any payment as the division shall find to be unjust or unreasonable, or both disapprove and disallow as aforesaid. No payment disallowed by the division shall be capitalized or included as an operating cost of the public utility in the fixing of rates or as an asset in fixing a rate base. If, in any investigation, the public utility or affiliate shall unreasonably refuse to comply with any request of the division for information with respect to relevant accounts and records, whether of the public utility or any affiliate, any portion of which may be applicable to any transaction under investigation, so that parts thereof as the division may deem material may be made part of the record, the refusal shall justify the division in disapproving the transaction under investigation and disallowing payments in pursuance thereof.