Rhode Island § 39-2-2 - Duties of Utilities and Carriers

§ 39-2-2. Rate discrimination.

(a) If any public utility or any agent or officer of a public utility, as defined in chapter 1 of this title, shall directly or indirectly, by any device whatsoever, or otherwise, charge, demand, collect, or receive from any person, firm, or corporation a greater or less compensation for any service rendered or to be rendered by it, in, or affecting, or relating to the transportation of persons or property between points within this state, the distribution of electricity, or the production, transmission, delivery, or furnishing of heat, or water, or the conveyance of telegraph or telephone messages, or for any service in connection therewith, than that prescribed in the published schedules or tariffs then in force or established as provided herein, or than it charges, demands, collects, or receives from any other person, firm, or corporation for a like and contemporaneous service, under substantially similar circumstances and conditions, the public utility shall be guilty of unjust discrimination which is hereby prohibited and declared to be unlawful and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than two hundred dollars ($200) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) for each offense; and the agent or officer so offending shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) for each offense.

(b) Nothing in this section or any other provision of the law shall be construed to prohibit the giving by any public utility of free or reduced-rate service to any elderly person as defined by the division.