§ 45-39.1-5 - Rates.
SECTION 45-39.1-5
§ 45-39.1-5 Rates. – (a) Adequacy. The rates of municipal water supplies shall be adequate to payfor all costs associated with the municipal water supply including, but notlimited to, the costs of acquisition, treatment, transmission, distribution,and availability of water, and of system administration and overhead, includingmetering and billing, programs for the conservation and efficient use of water,including costs of developing, implementing, enforcing and evaluating suchconservation programs and including conservation pricing as described insubsection (d), and the cost and/or value of any services or facilitiesprovided by the city or town to the municipal water supply, testing, operation,maintenance, replacement, repair, debt service, and for sufficient operatingreserves, revenue stabilization funds, debt service reserves and capitalimprovement/infrastructure replacement funds to implement water supply systemmanagement plans;
(b) Equitability. Except for service charges and other fixedfees and charges, rates:
(1) Shall be based on metered usage and fairly set among andwithin the classes and/or types of users;
(2) Shall provide that within any class of users the fullcosts of system capacity, administration, operation, and water supply costs forpeak and/or seasonal use is borne by the users that contribute to such peakand/or seasonal use;
(3) May provide a basic residential use rate for water usethat is designed to make a basic level of water use affordable, and
(4) May require implementation of demand managementpractices, consistent with the standards and guidelines of the water resourcesboard, established pursuant to subsection 46-15.8(a), by wholesale and retailcustomers;
(c) Revenue stabilization. Municipal water suppliers shall inthe absence of other sufficient funds available for similar purposes, establishas part of their next rate adjustment a revenue stabilization account toprovide for adequacy during periods when revenues decline as a result ofimplementing water conservation programs, or due to circumstances beyond thereasonable control of the water supplier, including, but not limited to, theweather and drought. A revenue stabilization account shall accumulate a maximumof ten percent (10%) of the annual operating expenses of the supplier and shallbe used to supplement other revenues so that the supplier's reasonable costsare compensated;
(d) Conservation. Municipal water suppliers shall takeeffective action to reduce waste of water and to reduce non-agriculturalseasonal increases in the use of water, and may adopt conservation pricing aspart of a demand management program or otherwise revise their rates as a meansto achieve their goals. For the purpose of encouraging conservation of water,suppliers are authorized to adopt increased rates based on quantity used eitherthroughout the year or seasonally. Conservation pricing shall be designed topromote efficient water use, and to limit seasonal non-agricultural outdoorwater use, and to the extent possible shall not increase prices for water userswith no significant seasonal increase in water use. Revenues generated from theadoption of conservation rates shall be used to fund the revenue stabilizationaccount established pursuant to subsection (c) above, operating reserves, debtservice reserves or capital improvement/infrastructure replacement funds; and
(e) Billing. Billing shall be, at a minimum, quarterly byDecember 31, 2013.