Rhode Island Code of Regulations
Title 815 - Division of Public Utilities and Carriers
Chapter 20 - Natural Gas and Jurisdictional Propane
Subchapter 00 - N/A
Part 1 - Standards for Gas Utilities, Master Meter Systems and Jurisdictional Propane Systems (815-RICR-20-00-1)
Section 815-RICR-20-00-1.3 - Definitions
Universal Citation: 815 RI Code of Rules 20 00 1.3
Current through September 18, 2024
A. The definitions set out in 49 C.F.R. §§ 190.3, 191.3, and 192.3 are incorporated by reference above in § 1.1(A) of this Part, except as augmented or modified below. Unless the context otherwise requires, the following words as used herein shall have the following meanings:
1.
"Abandoned" means that the service line is physically disconnected (cut-off) at
the main, or at the distribution line that is the source of supply if the pipe
is not a main, and the pipe is made from material other than plastic or
cathodically-protected steel. If the service line is plastic or
cathodically-protected steel, it may be cut off at or in close proximity to a
property line and made into a stub. When the service line is abandoned, the LDC
shall remove the meter and assembly. Should access to these not be readily
available, the LDC shall make multiple attempts to gain access for removal. The
end of the operator's pipe that is within the customer's building must be cut
off below ground and sealed outside the building or must be sealed by inserting
a device within the service line to a point that is outside the building wall
or foundation. Provisions must be made so that the seal or device cannot be
readily removed. When the end of the operator's pipe is located above ground
outside the building, the aboveground segment must be removed and the remaining
segment below ground sealed. In any case, the pipeline's above or below ground
entry point into the building or foundation must be sealed after the pipe has
been removed. The pipeline shall be purged and sealed in accordance with
49 C.F.R. §
192.727(b).
2. "Accessory" means any meter reading
device, which is mechanically or non-mechanically attached to a meter and could
affect its accuracy, used to display, record, or transmit meter information to
a remote location or any associated meter correction device, either remote or
attached, used to adjust the reading of a meter index.
3. "Administrator" means the Administrator of
the Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers.
4. "AMR" means an automated meter-reading
device.
5. "British Thermal Unit
(BTU)" means a unit of heat equal to the amount of heat required to raise one
pound of water one degree Fahrenheit at one atmosphere pressure; equivalent to
251.997 calories.
6. "Commission"
means the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission.
7. "Cubic foot"
a. The term cubic foot means the volume of
gas which occupies one (1) cubic foot of space at a temperature of 60°
Fahrenheit and an absolute pressure of 14.73 pounds per square inch (known as
standard conditions) with deviation there from, for varying pressure and
temperature being in accordance with Boyle's Law and Charles' Law.
b. When gas is metered under the filed
domestic rates of the utility a cubic foot shall be taken to mean the amount of
gas which occupies one cubic foot under the conditions existing in the
customer's meter as and where installed, except that outside meters may be of a
temperature compensating type.
c.
When gas is metered in large volumes at pressures and temperatures other than
standard, it must be measured by a meter equipped with devices that correct for
super-compressibility, pressure and temperature to determine billable volume at
standard conditions. When orifice meters are used additional corrections may be
made for the super compressibility and expansion effects, in accordance with
industry standards.
8.
"Cubic foot bottle" means a specifically constructed and calibrated bottle that
can measure exactly one cubic foot of air. The calibration of the bottle is
certified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
9. "Degree days" means a measure of coldness
based on the extent to which the daily mean temperature falls below 65 degrees
F. For example, on a day when the average temperature is 35 degrees F, there
would be 30 degree days experienced.
10. "Distribution line" means a gas pipeline,
other than a gas-gathering or transmission line, that is normally used by
utilities for the transportation of natural gas and/or other flammable gas to
customers.
11. "Discontinued" means
that gas service is no longer provided to the customer and the prevention of
gas flow is usually performed by a locking device (valve) located in the
service line or in the meter assembly.
12. "Division" means the Rhode Island
Division of Public Utilities and Carriers.
13. "DR meter" means a meter that does not
register the consumption of gas.
14. "Fast meter" means a meter that measures
more gas than is actually consumed.
15. "FERC" means the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission.
16.
"Inactive" means a service line where gas service to the customer has been
discontinued but the service line has not been abandoned.
17. "Jurisdictional propane system" means a
propane system that serves ten or more residential customers, or two or more
customers served in a public place, from a single or manifold tank
system.
18. "LDC" means a local
distribution company, which is also a public utility engaged in the business of
manufacturing, distributing, selling, or transporting natural or other gas by
pipeline in the State of Rhode Island.
19. "Master meter system" means a pipeline
system for distributing gas within, but not limited to, a definable area, such
as a mobile home park, housing project, or apartment complex, where the
operator purchases metered gas from an outside source for resale through a gas
distribution pipeline system. The gas distribution pipeline system 10 supplies
the ultimate consumer who either purchases the gas directly through a meter or
by other means, such as by rents.
20. "Meter" means a device, instrument, or
any attached device, used by a utility to measure a quantity of gas for billing
purposes. The two (2) classes of gas meters consist of:
a. Class A meter - A meter having a rated
capacity of not more than 500 cubic feet per hour at 1/2 inch water column
differential pressure and operating at a gauge pressure of not more than 15
pounds per square inch and not greater than the maximum pressure rating of the
meter expressed in pounds per square inch.
b. Class B meter - A meter having a rated
capacity of more than 500 cubic feet per hour. The meter shall not operate at a
pressure greater than the maximum pressure rating of the meter expressed in
pounds per square inch.
21. "Potentially hazardous condition" means
any condition which has the potential to become a hazardous condition, but
which does not require immediate action. All of the following are examples of
potentially hazardous conditions:
a. Customer
failure to permit the utility to perform inspections and maintenance on the
utility's facilities in or on the customer's premises.
b. Customer alterations or modifications of
the utility's facilities located in or on the customer's premises.
c. Customer construction of a structure or
appurtenance near or over the main, service line piping, or meter set assembly
so that the utility's facilities are not in compliance with the utility's
standards.
d. Customer failure to
correct or replace gas utilization equipment or gas fuel line piping that has
been previously identified and classified as potentially hazardous by the
utility.
22. "Public
utility" as defined in R.I. Gen. Laws §
39-1-2.
23. "Referee test" means a meter test in
which the customer requests to be present for the actual test or to be
represented by the Division and/or the customer's agent.
24. "Slow meter" means a meter that measures
less gas than is actually consumed.
25. "Therm" means a unit of heating valve
equivalent to 100,000 BTU's.
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