R.I. Gen. Laws § 47-16-1: Forbidding use of metering devices.

Any town or city sealer of weights, measures, and balances shall have authority to condemn and forbid the use of any metering device for the sale of electricity, water, or natural gas in his or her respective town or city, or until the device has been duly tried and sealed, or until the metering device has been equipped with such attachment, contrivance, or apparatus as will insure the correct and proper functioning of the measuring device for the sale of the electricity, water, or natural gas by accurate measurement.