(a)  Notwithstanding the provisions of § 7-1.2-1401 and § 7-1.2-1402, and any other provision of any general or special law relating to the rights of foreign corporations to transact business in this state and to produce a certificate of authority under chapter 1.2 of Title 7 to transact business, limiting the powers, rights, and privileges of a foreign corporation procuring a certificate, and establishing the duties, restrictions, penalties, and liabilities imposed on a foreign corporation, but subject to the provisions of this chapter, a foreign electric utility:

(1)  Shall have the right to transact business in this state to the extent necessary or desirable to exercise the powers set forth in § 39-20-3 in connection with electric-generating facilities or portions thereof located within this state or the product or service therefrom or securities issued in connection with the financing of the facilities or portions thereof;

(2)  Shall be entitled to procure a certificate of authority under chapter 1.2 of Title 7 to transact business; and

(3)  Shall have within this state the powers set forth in § 39-20-3 in connection with electric-generating facilities or portions thereof located within this state, or the product or service therefrom, or securities issued in connection with the financing of facilities or portions thereof.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 39-20-4

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Electric utility: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or entity, or subdivision thereof, private, governmental, or other, wherever resident or organized, primarily engaged in the generation and sale or purchase and sale of electricity, or the transmission thereof, for ultimate consumption by the public. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-20-2
  • Electric-generating facilities: means electric-generating units rated five hundred megawatts (500 MW) or above, and generating stations in commercial generation on or before January 1, 1990, that are subsequently altered or modified to increase the rating of these stations by at least two hundred megawatts (200 MW), and related facilities including those for the transmission of the capacity and related energy from these units or stations. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-20-2
  • Foreign electric utility: means any electric utility other than a domestic electric utility. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-20-2
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.

(b)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize a foreign electric utility to sell electricity at wholesale or retail within this state unless:

(1)  The sale is authorized under its charter or the general or special laws of this state other than by this chapter; or

(2)  The sale constitutes a sale of capacity and related energy from a specifically identified electric-generating facility within this state or a sale of economy, backup, or other energy therefrom. Nonregulated power producers shall not be subject to this subsection.

History of Section.
P.L. 1975, ch. 215, § 1; P.L. 1976, ch. 332, § 1; P.L. 1996, ch. 316, § 1; P.L. 2005, ch. 36, § 25; P.L. 2005, ch. 72, § 25.