R.I. Gen. Laws § 39-4-13: Summary investigation by division.

Whenever the division shall believe that any of the rates, tolls, charges, or any joint rate or rates, charged, demanded, exacted, or collected by any public utility are in any respect unreasonable or unjustly discriminatory or otherwise in violation of this title, or that any regulation, measurement, practice, or act whatsoever of the public utility, affecting or relating to the conveyance of persons or property, or any service in connection therewith, or affecting or relating to the production, transmission, delivery, or furnishing of heat, light, water, or power, or any service in connection therewith, or the conveyance of telephone or telegraph messages, or any service in connection therewith, is in any respect unreasonable, insufficient, or unjustly discriminatory; or that any service of the public utility is inadequate or cannot be obtained, or is unsafe, or the public health is endangered thereby; or that an investigation of any matter relating to a public utility should, for any reason be made, it shall summarily investigate the same with or without notice as it shall deem proper. The summary investigation as provided under this section shall be in addition to the hearings conducted pursuant to the provisions of §§ 39-3-7 and 39-3-11.