(a) As used in sections 16a-17 to 16a-20, inclusive:

(1) “Fuel” includes electricity, natural gas, petroleum products, coal and coal products, wood fuels, radioactive materials and any other resource yielding energy;

(2) “Creating a fuel shortage” means the diminution by contrivance or artificial means of the supply of fuel to a point below that needed to meet consumer demands adequately.

(b) As used in sections 16a-21, 16a-22a and 16a-22k:

(1) “Associated equipment” means a gas regulator, gas line, sacrificial anode, interconnecting hardware and such other equipment necessary for the installation and operation of a propane tank;

(2) “Automatic delivery” means the delivery of heating fuel to a consumer by a dealer pursuant to a system determined by the dealer of calculating the heating fuel needs of the consumer, based on the consumer's consumption of heating fuel;

(3) “Cash” means legal tender, a certified or cashier's check, commercial money order or equivalent of such legal tender, check or money order. Cash also includes a guaranteed payment on behalf of a consumer by a government or community action agency, provided no discount is taken for the charge as billed;

(4) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Consumer Protection;

(5) “Consumer” means a direct purchaser of heating fuel from a heating fuel dealer, when such fuel is the primary source of heat for residential heating or domestic hot water to one or more dwelling units within a structure having not more than four dwelling units;

(6) “Gallon” means an accepted unit of measure consisting of two hundred thirty-one cubic inches, for all liquid or gaseous heating fuel, subject to modifications allowed under regulations adopted pursuant to section 43-42;

(7) “Heating fuel” means any petroleum-based fuel used as the primary source of residential heating or domestic hot water, including petroleum products regulated pursuant to chapter 250;

(8) “Heating fuel dealer” or “dealer” means any individual or group of individuals, a firm, partnership, corporation, cooperative or limited liability company that offers the retail sale of heating fuel to a consumer;

(9) “Lessee” means a natural person who rents or leases personal property under a consumer rental or lease agreement;

(10) “Lessor” means a heating fuel dealer who regularly provides the use of personal property through consumer rental or lease agreements and to whom rent is paid at a fixed interval for the use of such property;

(11) “Notice of termination of automatic delivery” means a notice by a consumer to a dealer providing automatic delivery in which the consumer requests the dealer to terminate automatic delivery; and

(12) “Purchase price” or “commercially reasonable price” means a price that does not exceed the fair market value of the propane tank and associated equipment, as applicable.

(P.A. 74-208, S. 1, 5; P.A. 12-76, S. 1; P.A. 16-69, S. 2.)

History: P.A. 12-76 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a) and added Subsec. (b) re definitions used in Secs. 16a-21, 16a-22a and 16a-22k, effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 16-69 amended Subsec. (b) by adding Subdiv. (12) re definition of “purchase price” or “commercially reasonable price”, effective July 1, 2016.