Title 42
State Affairs and Government

Chapter 98
Energy Facility Siting Act

§ 42-98-1.1. Capital city underground utility initiative.

(a) Legislative findings.

(1) In 2004, the cities of Providence and East Providence exercised their rights under this section as it was originally enacted in 2004, to forego receipt of a customer credit owed to the Narragansett Electric Company’s (“company”) electric customers residing in those communities, opting instead to use those communities’ allocated share of the customer credit to fund a portion of the cost of constructing the “Underground Alignment” of a portion of the E-183 115 kilovolt electric transmission line as defined in the Settlement Agreement approved by the Board on May 28, 2004 in Docket No. SB-2003-01.

(2) The Settlement Agreement approved by the Board in Docket No. SB-2003-01 provided, in part, that the parties to the Settlement Agreement would work to reach an agreement on a route for the Underground Alignment while the Rhode Island attorney general would work to secure funding for construction of the Underground Alignment. The Settlement Agreement provided further that if the Underground Alignment was found not to be feasible for reasons including cost or constructability, other identified alignments of the relevant portion of the E-183 electric transmission line would be considered in order of preference.

(3) On January 17, 2018, the Board issued an Order determining that the Underground Alignment and the “Bridge Alignment North,” as defined in the Settlement Agreement, were not feasible, and approving construction of the “Bridge Alignment South,” as defined in the Settlement Agreement.

(4) Following appellate review pursuant to § 42-98-12, on June 17, 2022, in Case No. 2018-40-M.P., the Supreme Court of Rhode Island upheld the Board’s January 17, 2018 Order.

(5) Due to the foregoing events and decisions, as of 2025, no portion of the E-183 transmission line has been constructed underground and no part of the customer credit referred to in subsection (a)(1) of this section has been returned to electric customers in the cities of Providence and East Providence.

(6) The customer credit that arose from the company’s base distribution rate case in 2004, which the cities of Providence and East Providence did not accept on behalf of their ratepayers, has been segregated and has accrued interest for the benefit of Providence and East Providence electric distribution customers.

(7) The cities of Providence and East Providence desire to have portions of the E-183 electric transmission line located underground and require legislative authorization for funding mechanisms to pay the incremental cost, over and above the estimated cost of the Bridge Alignment South, of the burial of portions of the E-183 electric transmission line along the southern shore of Fox and India Points that are south of Interstate 195 and in East Providence on the east side of the Seekonk River (the “Bridge Alignment South — Hybrid”).

(b) The public utilities commission shall permit the city of Providence and the city of East Providence, upon petition by a duly authorized representative of such municipality, to apply all of the respective municipality’s pro rata share of the refund accruing to the ratepayers of the respective municipality as computed under section 11(c) of the Third Amended Settlement Agreement in Docket No. 2930, plus accrued interest, toward the incremental cost of constructing the Bridge Alignment South — Hybrid.

(c) The Company shall apply to the regional grid operator or its successor organization for approval to charge New England regional network service customers for the capital costs associated with undergrounding portions of the E-183 transmission line as described herein and as verified for feasibility by the Narragansett Electric Company. Any Portion of costs not categorized as eligible for regional cost allocation shall be governed by subsections (d) through (f) of this section and remain chargeable to the electric customers of Providence and East Providence.

(d) Notwithstanding the Supreme Court’s June 17, 2022, affirmation of the Board’s January 17, 2018 Order, the Board shall have jurisdiction to consider a modification to the license to include burial of a portion of the E-183 electric transmission line without having to consider whether the requirements of §§ 42-98-11(b)(1) and (b)(2) have been met. Following approval by the Board of a modified license, the company shall be authorized to proceed with the construction of the modification which will include consideration of the Bridge Alignment South — Hybrid, subject to the passage of resolutions by both city councils of the cities of Providence and East Providence agreeing that any incremental costs above funding made available pursuant to subsection (b) of this section may be included in electric rates of electric customers in those cities. Such resolutions must be delivered to the public utilities commission no later than July 1, 2026. To the extent the actual costs for the Bridge Alignment South — Hybrid exceed the funding obtained for the project pursuant to this section and from any other sources, the company is authorized to include the incremental costs above those funding levels, including interest, any resulting tax adjustments, and billing system modification costs in rates charged to the electric distribution customers within the cities of Providence and East Providence in a manner approved by the public utilities commission, subject to the timely passage and delivery of the resolutions specified above. Such rate adjustment shall be billed as a per kilowatt hour charge designed to recover the full incremental cost of the Bridge Alignment South — Hybrid, including interest, any resulting tax adjustments, and billing system modification costs, over a period not less than three (3) years subject to reconciliation of the final cost compared to billed revenues. The incremental costs of undergrounding net of the customer credit referenced in subsection (b) of this section will be allocated to each city based on the actual cost of the underground portions in each respective city. The company shall book the revenues collected through the rate adjustment for such incremental underground construction costs as contribution in aid of construction in the appropriate transmission accounts.

(e) If the cities of Providence and East Providence obtain any other source of funding that can be used to offset the cost of burial of the E-183 electric transmission line, that source of funding shall offset the amount of the rate adjustment charged to the electric ratepayers in the cities of Providence and/or East Providence under subsection (c) of this section as defined by the source of funding.

(f) If the conditions precedent to the construction of the Bridge Alignment South — Hybrid are satisfied, the cities of Providence and East Providence shall acquire and convey to the company, all easements or property rights needed in the company’s reasonable judgment for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the relevant segment of E-183. Any costs associated with the transfer of property rights will be included in the overall project costs and allocated as described in subsection (d) of this section. Any property and easements no longer being used by the company for utility purposes after the Bridge Alignment South — Hybrid is completed also shall be transferred to the city in which such property is located after the completion of the project, at the city’s request and at no additional cost to the city. If there is any dispute about the extent to which property or easements are needed and therefore should not be transferred, the public utilities commission shall decide the issue upon petition by the affected city.