Rhode Island § 39-4-22 - Hearings and Investigations

§ 39-4-22. Penalties for violations.

Every public utility, and all officers and agents thereof, shall obey, observe, and comply with every order of the division made under the authority of chapters 1 — 5 of this title as long as the order shall be and remain in force. Every public utility that shall violate any of the provisions of the chapters or that fails, omits, or neglects to obey, observe, or comply with any order of the division, shall be subject to a penalty of not less than two hundred dollars ($200) nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each and every offense. Every violation of the order shall be a separate and distinct offense and, in case of a continuing violation, every day’s continuance thereof shall be, and be deemed to be, a separate and distinct offense. Every officer, agent, or employee of a public utility who shall violate any of the provisions of the chapters, or who procures, aids, or abets any violation by any public utility, or who shall fail to obey, observe, or comply with any order of the division, or any provision of an order of the division, or who procures, aids, or abets any public utility in its failure to obey, observe, or comply with any order or provision, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). In construing and enforcing the provisions of this section, the act, omission, or failure of any officer, agent, or other person acting for or employed by any public utility, acting within the scope of his or her employment, shall in every case be deemed to be also the act, omission, or failure of the public utility.